Algeria is one of the few countries that, despite being a majority

Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...

Arab country, has been friendly towards mostly

Shia Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his S ...

Iran. Although enjoying a cordial relationship, at times relations between two countries have been strained, such as during the

Algerian Civil War The Algerian Civil War ( ar, rtl=yes, الْحَرْبُ الْأَهْلِيَّةُ الجَزَائِرِيَّةُ, al-Ḥarb al-ʾAhlīyah al-Jazāʾirīyah) was a civil war in Algeria fought between the Algerian government and various Is ...

in the 1990s, or with the current position of the

Arab world The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...

towards Iran. Nonetheless, Algeria retains close and friendly ties with Iran due to its neutrality at the expense of

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

History

Islamic conquest

The

Rustamid dynasty The Rustamid dynasty () (or ''Rustumids'', ''Rostemids'') was a ruling house of Ibāḍī imāms of Persian descent centered in Algeria. The dynasty governed as a Muslim theocracy for a century and a half from its capital Tiaret (present day Tag ...

, a famous Ibadi Islamic dynasty in Algeria, was of Persian origin.

Modern relations

After the independence of Algeria, then-

Pahlavi Iran The Imperial State of Iran ( fa, کشور شاهنشاهی ایران, ), also known as the Imperial State of Persia, was the official name of the Iranian state under the rule of the Pahlavi dynasty. It was formed in 1925 and lasted until 197 ...

soon established relations with Algeria, but due to its remoteness and lack of interests, Algeria and Iran remained somewhat modest relations. When the

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynas ...

overthrew the Shah and replaced the monarchy with a theocratic Republic, Algeria served as representative of Iran's interests in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

from 1981 until the

Algerian Civil War

During the war, Algeria accused Iran, alongside

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

and

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

for meddling in the conflict and supporting the hardcore

Armed Islamic Group of Algeria The Armed Islamic Group (GIA, from french: Groupe Islamique Armé; ar, الجماعة الإسلامية المسلّحة, al-Jamāʿa l-ʾIslāmiyya l-Musallaḥa) was one of the two main Islamist insurgent groups that fought the Algerian gove ...

which killed nearly 200.000 people. Iran was found to have used Sudan as a transit supporting rebels and secretly supported by Sudan.

Chadli Bendjedid Chadli Bendjedid ( ar, الشاذلي بن جديد; ALA-LC: ''ash-Shādhilī bin Jadīd''; 14 April 1929 – 6 October 2012) was the third President of Algeria and an Algerian Nationalist. His presidential term of office ran from 9 February 19 ...

, then-

President of Algeria The president of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria is the head of state and chief executive of Algeria, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Algerian People's National Armed Forces. History of the office The Tripoli Program, whi ...

, believed that Algeria could not become the other Iran, and the Islamists, supported by both Iran and Saudi Arabia, were suppressed. This low-point relations pushed Algeria to finally cede their mission of representing Iran's interests in the United States in response to Iran's supports to GIA.

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

later replaced Algeria as representative of Iran's interests.

Modern relations

Since the end of the civil war, Algeria and Iran re-approached the relationship in 2000 by Algerian President

Abdelaziz Bouteflika Abdelaziz Bouteflika (; ar, عبد العزيز بوتفليقة, ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz Būtaflīqa ; 2 March 1937 – 17 September 2021) was an Algerian politician and diplomat who served as President of Algeria from 1999 to his resignation in 2019 ...

and Iranian counterpart

Mohammad Khatami Sayyid Mohammad Khatami ( fa, سید محمد خاتمی, ; born 14 October 1943) is an Iranian politician who served as the fifth president of Iran from 3 August 1997 to 3 August 2005. He also served as Iran's Minister of Culture from 1982 to ...

, but there has been a strong mistrust alongside Algerian elites and majority Algerian population upon Iranian political desires, a legacy left behind because of Iran's involvement in the Algerian Civil War. Algeria still has some limits towards Iran's political desires in the country. Nonetheless, in spite of historical concerns and mistrusts, Algeria and Iran still share some similar views. Algeria and Iran both opposed arming to the opposition groups in

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

amidst the Syrian Civil War or the same current

Yemeni Civil War Yemeni Civil War may refer to several historical events which have taken place in Yemen: *Alwaziri coup, February – March 1948 *Yemeni–Adenese clan violence, 1956–60 *North Yemen Civil War, 1962–70 *Aden Emergency, 1963–67 *South Yemen#Di ...

although limited in level terms as Iran directly involved in these wars while Algeria called for total mediations and ceasefires. Algeria is one of few Arab nations that is willing to cooperate with Iran. Algeria keeps a strong cultural relationship with Iran, a legacy of its ensure neutrality. Economic ties between two nations are also growing expensively and positively, paving the way for deeper ties between the two nations.

Algerian Embassy

Algeria maintains an embassy in

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

. * Ambassador Abdelmoun’aam Ahriz

Iranian Embassy

Iran has an embassy in

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

. * Ambassador Hossein Mashalchizadeh

References

External links

Embassy of Algeria in IranEmbassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Algiers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Algeria-Iran relations

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

Bilateral relations of Iran

History

Islamic conquest

Modern relations

Algerian Civil War

Modern relations

Algerian Embassy

Iranian Embassy

See also

References

External links