The Ceuta crisis was supposed to serve as “punishment” for Madrid’s stance on the Middle East conflict, Tehran has argued
The US and Israel orchestrated the mass migrant crossing from Morocco into Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta to punish Madrid for its refusal to bow to pressure on the Middle East conflicts, Iran’s embassy in Kenya has suggested. Spain has been at odds with Washington and West Jerusalem over the Gaza war and strikes on Iran.
Over the past several days, roughly 50,000 to 60,000 migrants crossed from Morocco into Ceuta by land and sea in numbers equivalent to some 70% of the enclave’s regular population. The local authorities admitted they had been “completely overwhelmed” by the sudden surge.
The crisis, the largest human traffic invasion in the EU’s history, claimed the lives of at least 86 people, a toll expected to rise further. Many of the victims drowned in the sea or were crushed in the stampede at border checkpoints.
On Friday, the Iranian Embassy in Nairobi described the migrant surge as “an operation organized by Washington and Tel Aviv – coordinated with certain neighboring authorities – to destabilize Spain.”
It also branded the crisis “a gift to Europe’s far right” and “punishment for the country that dared to challenge the American Empire and its Israeli henchmen,” warning that “the empire never tolerates defiance.”
Neither the US nor Israel commented on the accusation. However, Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon slammed Spain’s handling of the crisis. “Spain, which never misses an opportunity to lecture Israel, has declared a state of emergency in Ceuta following the crisis over its immigration policy”, Danon wrote on X. “Maybe before it continues lecturing us, it’s time it explained to the world why it still maintains colonial enclaves in Africa.”
Spanish Transport Minister Oscar Puente responded to the post saying, “Well, it all seems to be becoming quite clear.” Far-right US commentator Alex Jones separately claimed “Israel launched an Islamic invasion of Spain,” alleging Washington backed the move. Catalan Republican Left (ERC) parliamentary spokesman Gabriel Rufian also suggested that the migration crisis was serving US and Israeli interests.
The comments come against a backdrop of deep acrimony between Madrid and Israel over the Gaza conflict and the US-Israeli war on Iran. Spain recognized Palestine in May 2024, accused Israel of “genocide” in Gaza, and has permanently pulled its ambassador from Israel over its opposition to strikes on Iran while closing its airspace to US aircraft involved in the attack.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar accused Madrid of “standing with tyrants” while US President Donald Trump blasted Spain, saying that it “has been very bad” to NATO. Iran, meanwhile, has praised Spain for its “principled” position on the war.
At the same time, Spain and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez – whose government recently granted legal status to 500,000 illegal immigrants – came under fire from several European leaders, who blamed the crisis on his lenient policies.
In a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Sanchez said he had “serious concerns” about some EU governments, noting that while most EU states had shown “support and solidarity,” others had responded with a “selfish, polarizing and unlawful reaction” driven by “prejudice, fake news, ignorance, or political interest.”
Apart from the theory of alleged US-Israel involvement, several other explanations for the crisis have circulated. The Spanish authorities have pointed to criminal human-trafficking networks which they claimed exploited a Supreme Court ruling barring “hot returns” of migrants and fabricated a viral social media campaign to lure them to the border.
At the same time, Western intelligence sources cited by The Telegraph suggested that Morocco may have loosened border controls in retaliation for Sanchez’s pursuit of historic rapprochement with rival Algeria.
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