Ebrahim Raisi’s five-day journey included visits to Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba, three of Tehran’s allies within the area.
TEHRAN, Iran – Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has returned from a tour of Latin America the place he signed dozens of agreements with three allies that share Iran’s defiant stance towards the West.
The Iranian president, accompanied by the international, protection, oil and well being ministers, arrived in Tehran on Friday after a five-day journey that additionally included visits to Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba.
During his go to, Raisi criticized financial sanctions imposed by the United States on Iran and its Latin American allies.
“The relationship between Iran and Venezuela shouldn’t be a traditional diplomatic one. It is strategic,” Raisi mentioned in Caracas, the place he was given a heat welcome by President Nicolas Maduro.
“Iran and Venezuela have a typical enemy they usually don’t need us to reside independently,” he mentioned, referring to Washington.
The two international locations have signed greater than 20 agreements.
Several of the agreements are energy-related, resembling these for the event of oil platforms and petrochemical crops, however agreements have additionally been signed on maritime transport, agriculture, well being care, info expertise, insurance coverage and cultural relations.
Iran and Venezuela signed a 20-year cooperation plan final 12 months throughout Maduro’s go to to Tehran, and each presidents mentioned this week that the brand new settlement was geared toward higher implementing the plan.
Raisi mentioned in Caracas that annual commerce between the 2 international locations at the moment exceeds $3 billion and that the 2 may enhance it to $10 billion within the medium time period, in the direction of a goal of $20 billion.
President Maduro has mentioned he needs to position a bust of Iranian common Qassem Soleimani, who was assassinated in a U.S. drone strike in Iraq in January 2020, on the grave of Simon Bolivar, the Venezuelan navy and political chief who led the Latin American nation to independence from Spanish colonial rule 200 years in the past.
The theme of praising Soleimani and condemning Washington continued in Raisi’s subsequent vacation spot, Managua.
Nicaragua’s President Daniel Ortega, standing subsequent to Raisi, addressed Soleimani for a number of minutes, after which the 2 leaders noticed a minute’s silence for the overall.
“We pay tribute to all of the heroes and martyrs of Iran, particularly General Qassem Soleimani, who was assassinated by American imperialism whereas preventing terrorism, along with our heroes and martyrs,” Ortega mentioned.
The Iranian president strongly condemned the sanctions imposed by the United States on Iran and Nicaragua following the collapse of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and the crackdown on Nicaraguan dissidents.
“The United States tried to paralyze our individuals with threats and sanctions, nevertheless it failed,” Raisi mentioned, later additionally addressing Nicaragua’s parliament.
According to Iranian state media, the 2 presidents signed a number of agreements protecting financial and commerce cooperation and the well being sector.
Cuban President visits Tehran
The Iranian president reached Havana on the ultimate leg of his tour, the place he was welcomed by Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel, who promised to step up political engagement with Tehran.
“The go to of the Iranian president to our nation at a time when sanctions towards Cuba proceed strengthens our belief and perception in Iran,” he mentioned.
The Cuban president additionally dedicated to visiting Tehran this 12 months, saying the go to had been deliberate for a while however had been hindered by the COVID-19 pandemic and different points.
The two international locations signed six agreements, together with a political cooperation roadmap.
Iranian Health Minister Bahram Einolahi mentioned the go to marked “one of many Islamic Republic of Iran’s best achievements within the well being sector” and that Iran and the three international locations agreed to arrange a joint well being cooperation working group.
He mentioned Iran, which claims to provide nearly the entire medicines it wants domestically, would export medicines and medical gear to Venezuela and Nicaragua and likewise search to strengthen college cooperation with the three international locations.
In Havana, Raisi and Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdullahian additionally met with former President Raul Castro.
Washington didn’t remark straight on Raisi’s go to. Instead, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby reiterated that the United States was involved about Iran’s “destabilizing actions” and would proceed to take steps to mitigate their influence.