Iran's Raisi In Latin America To Find Ways Around US Sanctions
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi says the goal of his three-nation tour of Latin America this week was forming an alliance to circumvent US sanctions.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi says the goal of his three-nation tour of Latin America this week was forming an alliance to circumvent US sanctions.
Raisi, who arrived in Cuba for the last leg of his tour early Thursday, was received by Cuban Foreign Affairs Minister Bruno Rodriguez upon arrival at the airport and met with Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel at the Palace of the Revolution in Havana.
"Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba and Iran are among the countries that have had to heroically confront sanctions (...) threats, blockades and interference by Yankee imperialism and its allies with a tenacious resistance," Diaz-Canel told his Iranian counterpart, adding "This visit reinforced our conviction that we have in Iran a friendly nation in the Middle East, with which to confide ... and talk about the most complex global issues."
Raisi, in his turn, said, "The conditions and circumstances in which Cuba and Iran find themselves today have many things in common. Every day our relations grow stronger."
Raisi had earlier visited Venezuela, where he and President Nicolas Maduro pledged to boost bilateral trade from $3 billion to $20 billion within an unspecified time frame. Except Iran shipping oil and fuel to Venezuela and reportedly receiving gold, there is not much else the two sanctioned countries can trade.
He later visited Nicaragua, where he had a welcome ceremony at the Non-Aligned Square in the capital Managua led by President Daniel Ortega.
During all the stops, Raisi and the head of state of the host country oversaw ceremonies to signa raft of so-called economic agreements in a show of unity against the United States.
Common themes in Raisi’s speeches throughout the entire tour were creating a “new world order” that would overturn the US "domination" and cooperation among independent -- read sanctioned -- countries in the face of “the imperialist regime,” to become more resilient against US demands and its sanctions.
The three countries chosen as Raisi’s destination South are under scores of embargos over their shady economic dealings with blacklisted outfits such as Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and their track record of crackdown on dissent.
The Islamic Republic is relishing a sense of undermining its archrival, the US, as Raisi toured fellow sanctioned nations, celebrating it as a diplomatic coup de force at ‘America's backyard’.
During a joint press conference with his Nicaraguan counterpart on Wednesday, Raisi stressed the need for cooperation among “independent countries” towards neutralizing the predicaments that they commonly face, particularly Western sanctions.
"Cooperation between Latin American countries and other independent countries across various regions can forge a unity that can both neutralize sanctions and increase the capacities of the countries in question," he said, claiming that Iran “turned threats and sanctions into opportunities, and through these opportunities made great progress in different areas."
Riais's claim of successes contradict Iran's dire economic crisis and the daily criticism in Iran even by some of his allies.
Echoing similar anti-US sentiments, Ortega said: "We pay homage along with our heroes and martyrs, to all the heroes and martyrs of Iran and in particular to General Qassem Soleimani, who was assassinated by Yankee imperialism when he was fighting against terrorism."
The Iranian president was accompanied with a large delegation made up of ministers and officials as well as his wife, who also made headlines for her controversial remarks during an interview with a Venezuelan TV channel.
Claiming that governments abuse at the workplace in the name of freedom, Jamileh Alamolhoda – daughter of firebrand cleric Ahmad Alamolhoda – called it an example of violence when women study and work like men.
"We want women to remain women. Why should we be like men? Why should we study, work or live like men? This is a form of violence," she said.
Eurostat, the European Union's statistical office, reported on Monday that Germany has imported crude oil or petroleum products for the first time in five years from Iran.
Based on the report, Germany imported 69,737 metric tons of crude oil or petroleum products from Iran in March of this year. The country's last import of Iranian crude was 10,000 mt in October 2018.
However, BAFA told Iran International’s correspondent Ahmad Samadi on Wednesday that there was a mistake in the reporting by the Eurostat.
“The import about 70.000 tons from Iran is wrongly declared. These quantities originally come from Mexico.”
BAFA also added that Eurostat has corrected this mistake in its data.
According to the German Federal Statistical Office, the trade volume between Tehran and Berlin has decreased dramatically.
The country's exports to Iran in April 2023 have decreased by 28% compared to the last year.
According to the figures, exports to Iran in April this year decreased by over 32 million euros reaching 82,826,000 euros.
Imports from Iran in April 2023 were around 17 million euros, which has dropped by 22.6% compared to the same period last year.
German exports to Iran include chemicals, machinery, and food products, and on the other hand, Iran has exported mostly food products to Germany.
The mechanism by which the money would be released remains murky, but Washington claims it is part of a number of humanitarian transactions which have been taking place consistently over years since the previous administration.
Speaking in this week’s press briefing, Matthew Miller, spokesperson for the US Department of State, told reporters: “Iran can only access its funds held in accounts for Iraq for humanitarian and other non-sanctionable transactions.”
He told reporters the transaction is consistent with US law and in full coordination with the Government of Iraq while all Iran-related sanctions continue to be upheld.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein was reportedly given the clearance during a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the sidelines of the Riyadh Conference on June 8, according to Reuters.
The Iraqi foreign ministry source said that the funds will be transferred through the Commercial Bank of Iraq and Iranian officials have confirmed that the money will be used for Iranian Hajj pilgrims' expenses and foodstuffs imported by Iran.
In spite of reports worldwide, the US continues to deny its being in direct talks with Iran over a return to the nuclear deal. Miller said that recent reports have been “false” or misleading, claiming the channels of communication have always been open.
As reporters' questions became more intense, Miller was increasingly uncomfortable, tripping over his words and backtracking as things heated up. A barrage of questions were thrown at the spokesman whose standard lines were clearly not cutting it in light of the Iraq revelations and the obvious frustration reporters felt by the ongoing denials of the Oman talks.
“We have always had the ability to deliver messages to Iran when it’s in the interests of the United States to do so,” he said, undermining the meeting which took place in Oman, repeating the Biden administration’s standard line that diplomacy is the best means to ensuring Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon in spite of its having reached terrifying limits.
So seriously has the meeting and its outcome been taken by Iran’s adversaries, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the matter in the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting on Tuesday.
He openly stated there is very much a deal underway between the US and Iran, reasserting claims that "no agreement with Iran will be binding on Israel, which will continue to do everything to defend itself."
Referring to Iran, he told MKs that “over 90% of our security problems stem from Iran and its proxies, and our policy is aimed at increasing the circle of peace, to stop Iran and its proxies”, no matter what deals are struck between Iran and other nations, emphasizing the government’s “opposition to a return to the original [JCPOA] agreement”.
He admitted there are still differences of outlook on the matter between Israel and its largest ally, the US, not only about JCPOA but also about smaller agreements.
The revelations come amidst a busy diplomatic week for Iran, which this week, saw its chief unclear negotiator, Ali Bagheri-Kani, meet representatives of the E3, Britain, France and Germany, in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
Christian Turner, Director General Geopolitics and Political Director at the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office, remained tight-lipped on the nature of discussions, only tweeting: “The discussion covered a wide range of issues of mutual interest and concern.”
To have taken place in Abu Dhabi shows the importance of Tehran’s ties to its Arab Gulf neighbours and adversaries, which are taking a key role in facilitating a peaceful resolution to Iran’s ongoing nuclear armament, which, on Abu Dhabi’s doorstep, keeps its leaders awake at night.