Iran has said standing up to Western imperialism is a key message of the presidential tour.
Tehran, Iran – Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has embarked on a three-country tour of South America with the aim of strengthening political and economic ties with allies resisting Western rule.
The president departed Tehran in the early hours of Monday and is expected to make state visits to Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua, all countries also sanctioned by the United States.
According to Iranian state media, the five-day tour will begin with a visit to Venezuela. This is Raisi’s 13th trip abroad in the 21 months since the start of his presidency.
The president is accompanied by his ministers of foreign affairs, petroleum, defense and health, along with his chief of staff and deputy for political affairs.
“Relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and independent countries in Latin America are strategic. The position of us and these three countries is to oppose imperialism and unilateralism,” Raisi said before leaving.
Of Raisi’s three destinations, Iran has the closest ties to Venezuela.
The two countries signed a 20-year cooperation plan that they said would take bilateral relations to a “strategic” level during a visit by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to Tehran last year, when he also met Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Over the past three years, Iran has significantly strengthened its energy cooperation with Caracas, including helping repair and overhaul Venezuelan refineries and sending shipments of heavy crude oil to help Venezuela ramp up its oil and gas production.
The two countries are also seeking greater cooperation in agriculture, science and technology, shipping, automobiles and tourism, while increasing flights and strengthening cultural ties.
The visit to Raisi comes a week after Maduro arrived in Saudi Arabia for a high-level trip as Riyadh rebuilds alliances without the blessing of its old ally, the United States.
Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed in March to restore diplomatic ties in a China-brokered deal, something that also paved the way for Saudi rapprochement with Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen and the return of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the Arab League.
Tehran’s most notable recent collaboration with Cuba came when the two collaborated in organizing a production line for one of Havana’s COVID-19 vaccines in Iran.
Last month, a Cuban delegation was in Tehran and signed 13 agreements that Iranian officials say include cooperation in biotechnology, healthcare, trade, banking, agriculture and sports.
Like Iran, Nicaragua is also increasingly being targeted by US and European sanctions following the government’s crackdown on protests in 2018, and Managua is joining Beijing in recognizing China’s right to Taiwan.
According to IRNA, the official news agency of the Iranian government, Raisi wants to follow up on previously signed agreements and discuss new cooperation plans.
“The choice of Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba as our President’s first destinations for the Latin American tour is no coincidence, and in a transitional period to a multipolar era, the fact that the names of these countries correspond on the list of governments that be against American hegemony, sure. out the most,” he said.