Iran Strengthens South America Ties
Ahmadinejad Cements Ties With Venezuela President Chavez, Declares
'No One Can Defeat Us'
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By ALAN CLENDENNING
The Associated Press Thursday, September 27, 2007; 2:43 PM
LA PAZ, Bolivia -- Vilified by world leaders wary of his nuclear ambitions, Iran's president arrived in Bolivia on Thursday to strengthen ties with South American leftists who are embracing him as an energy and trade partner and counterweight to U.S. influence.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in the Amazon region city of Santa Cruz, then shifted to a Venezuelan government jet and flew to the capital of La Paz to establish first-time diplomatic relations with the Andean nation.
The visit comes on the heels of a U.N. General Assembly appearance in which Ahmadinejad said Iran will ignore demands by "arrogant powers" to curb its nuclear program.
Morales, a strident leftist, joins Venezuela's Hugo Chavez as one of Iran's allies. He called the visit a historic event, saying the two nations "will work together from this day on, for our people, for life and for humanity."
Ahmadinejad called Morales his "dear brother" and said his trip will be "the start of deep relations between both governments."
Ahmadinejad and Morales were expected to sign accords that Bolivian officials say could help them better tap the continent's second-largest natural gas reserves after Venezuela's and drum up urgently needed agricultural investment.
Ahmadinejad then heads to Caracas to meet Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, who has defended Iran's claims that its nuclear program is for peaceful energy purposes.
Ahmadinejad's trip south underscores his strengthening links to Latin American nations that also include Nicaragua and Ecuador even as the United States tries to isolate him internationally.
"It's a connection that is growing stronger all the time," said Alberto Garrido, a Venezuelan writer and political analyst. "It's Iran's answer to the United States on its own home turf. The United States is in the Middle East, so Iran is in Latin America."
LA PAZ, Bolivia -- Vilified by world leaders wary of his nuclear ambitions, Iran's president arrived in Bolivia on Thursday to strengthen ties with South American leftists who are embracing him as an energy and trade partner and counterweight to U.S. influence.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in the Amazon region city of Santa Cruz, then shifted to a Venezuelan government jet and flew to the capital of La Paz to establish first-time diplomatic relations with the Andean nation.
The visit comes on the heels of a U.N. General Assembly appearance in which Ahmadinejad said Iran will ignore demands by "arrogant powers" to curb its nuclear program.
Morales, a strident leftist, joins Venezuela's Hugo Chavez as one of Iran's allies. He called the visit a historic event, saying the two nations "will work together from this day on, for our people, for life and for humanity."
Ahmadinejad called Morales his "dear brother" and said his trip will be "the start of deep relations between both governments."
Ahmadinejad and Morales were expected to sign accords that Bolivian officials say could help them better tap the continent's second-largest natural gas reserves after Venezuela's and drum up urgently needed agricultural investment.
Ahmadinejad then heads to Caracas to meet Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, who has defended Iran's claims that its nuclear program is for peaceful energy purposes.
Ahmadinejad's trip south underscores his strengthening links to Latin American nations that also include Nicaragua and Ecuador even as the United States tries to isolate him internationally.
"It's a connection that is growing stronger all the time," said Alberto Garrido, a Venezuelan writer and political analyst. "It's Iran's answer to the United States on its own home turf. The United States is in the Middle East, so Iran is in Latin America."
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posted by jillosophy at 9/27/2007 07:07:00 PM
1 Comments:
The United States and Israel have been working for at least the last couple of years to isolate Iran from the world community and have been failing miserably. InternetActivist.Org has done a comprehensive recent media survey of how this effort has been going among all United Nations member states. The results are that 79 UN member states are currently entering into new agreements with Iran, expanding existing agreements, or otherwise enhancing cooperation with the Islamic Republic. Conversely, only 11 states are actively trying to isolate Iran and/or are threatening violence; all of whom except one are primarily white and dominated by right-wing governments. The remaining member states aren’t really involved at all, neither dealing with Iran nor actively campaigning against it.
To see who is enhancing their relationships with Iran (with documentation & links), to see who is trying to isolate or pressure Iran (also with documentation and links), as well as who is just staying uninvolved, visit:
http://iablog.blogspot.com/2007/09/so-how-have-usisraeli-efforts-to.html
This is a very comprehensive “report card” on how the US/Israeli effort to isolate Iran has fared.
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