Executive summary:
- Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s tour of South America late last year was part of a campaign to increase cooperation with Latin American countries. As well as visiting allies in Venezuela and Bolivia, Ahmadinejad visited Brazil in an attempt to expand bilateral relations with the most powerful Latin American country.
- In a major diplomatic coup for Ahmadinejad, Brazilian president Lula da Silva expressed support for Iran’s nuclear activity and opposition to attempts to confront Iran. Lula da Silva is also planning to visit Iran.
- As well as vocal support from Venezuela over the nuclear issue, Iran is believed to be receiving active cooperation in its enrichment programme from Venezuela, Bolivia and Guyana. Iran has also been collaborating closely in recent months with Cuba and Nicaragua.
- Brazil’s approach risks giving legitimacy to the Iranian regime and thwarting international efforts to halt Iran’s nuclear programme. Alliances with the Iranian regime threaten to promote nuclear proliferation, damage relations between Latin American countries and harm democracy and development across the region.
Latin America has been a region of priority for Iranian diplomacy in recent years, with close relationships being cultivated with Hugo Chávez in Venezuela and Evo Morales in Bolivia. Iran is now moving beyond these allies to attempt to increase bilateral relations with other countries across the region, and particularly with Brazil. With increasing pressure from the opposition at home and from the West over its nuclear programme, Iran is turning to Latin American countries for diplomatic support and economic cooperation. This poses a number of challenges for the future of democracy and stability in the region.
Ahmadinejad’s tour of South America
Last November Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad embarked on a diplomatic tour of South America. Rather than simply visiting established allies, Ahmadinejad began the tour by visiting the region’s leading economic power, Brazil, in what was the first ever visit of an Iranian president to the country.[i] This visit was not uncontroversial, with thousands of protestors taking to the streets in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro to denounce Ahmadinejad’s human rights record.[ii] Several Brazilian politicians also criticised president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s decision to host Ahmadinejad, with Jose Serra, the Sao Paulo state governor writing in a newspaper article: "One thing is a diplomatic relationship with dictatorships, another is to welcome their leaders in your home.”
Ahmadinejad made clear that his aim was to bring Brazil into Iran’s network of friendly countries in Latin America, saying: "New orders should be established in the world. Iran, Brazil and Venezuela in particular can have determining roles in designing and establishing these new orders." Hamid Molana, an Ahmadinejad adviser, boasted, not without foundation, that: "This is the first time in Latin American history that an Islamic government has been so present in the US backyard."
Da Silva rejected criticism, saying: "It doesn't help isolating Iran." He again spoke in this vein after his meeting with Ahmadinejad. In what can only be described as a triumph for the Iranian leader, the Brazilian president made clear his opposition to any further sanctions against Iran. At the press conference with Ahmadinejad, he said: "We recognise Iran's right to develop a peaceful nuclear programme in compliance with international accords. I encourage you to continue engaging interested countries to seek a just and balanced solution on the Iranian nuclear issue."[iii] There was no evidence of Ahmadinejad being challenged over Iran’s human rights record or its involvement in terrorist attacks in neighbouring Argentina.
Following his Brazilian visit, Ahmadinejad moved on to visit his allies in Bolivia and Venezuela. In La Paz, Bolivian president Evo Morales greeted him with full military honours.[iv] Ahmadinejad and Morales hailed their alliance against ‘imperialism’. He received a similar welcome in Venezuela, where Hugo Chávez addressed him as “Ahmadinejad: leader, brother, comrade."[v] Ahmadinejad, for his part, praised the Venezuelan leader as “my valiant brother, who is resisting like a mountain the intentions of imperialism and colonialism." The anti-imperialist theme continued, with Ahmadinejad declaring before the cameras: "Today the people of Venezuela and Iran, friends and brothers in the trench warfare against imperialism, are resisting. We'll stand together until the end. Viva Venezuela! Viva Chávez!" Chávez repaid the compliment, stating that: “In all the continent the people are rising for President Ahmadinejad. Viva Ahmadinejad!”[vii]
He even brought Ahmadinejad a message of welcome from Fidel Castro, saying: "Fidel told me: 'tell Ahmadinejad that reaching Venezuela is like reaching Cuba, because it's the same homeland. So I'm also welcoming you to Cuba, brother.'" Yet the trip was not merely the chance for shared anti-US rhetoric and shows of solidarity. Ahmadinejad was accompanied by 200 Iranian business leaders, hoping to strengthen economic ties between Iran and Latin America. The visit to Brazil was a demonstration of Iran’s desire to cultivate links outside of its close political allies in the region, by promoting trade with the leading economic power of the area. Ahmadinejad is reported to want to increase the volume of trade between Iran and Brazil from the current level of $1.5 billion to $15 billion.
Expanding links between Iran and Latin American countries
Aside from Ahmadinejad’s tour, Iran has been making wider efforts to cultivate stronger diplomatic and economic ties with Latin American countries, and to reinforce its existing alliances with countries which share its anti-US agenda. In January, Cuban deputy foreign minister Marcos Rodriguez visited Iranian foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki in Tehran. Mottaki announced the establishment of a joint diplomatic committee, chaired by foreign ministers from both countries, with the aim of expanding bilateral relations. Mottaki also said Tehran considers a tightening of diplomatic ties with Latin and Central American countries as a foreign policy priority. Mottaki linked this directly to Tehran’s opposition to the United States, and arguing that cooperation between Iran and Latin American countries angered the US. Rodriguez was also critical of the United States, claiming that the Obama administration had brought no change.[viii] Rodriguez also met with Iranian industry minister Ali-Akbar Mehrabian, and called for further Iranian investment in Cuba and an economic alliance to match the two countries’ political one.[ix] This month, Mottaki met with Mario Antonio Barkero Baltonedo, the new ambassador from Nicaragua, the leading Central American opponent of the US under Daniel Ortega. Mottaki praised the revolutionary and anti-imperialist background of Nicaragua, drawing comparisons with Iran's experience, and reiterated that one of the most important axes of the Islamic Republic’s foreign policy was boosting political and economic ties with Latin American countries.[x]
In January, Ahmadinejad and Ayatollah Khamenei welcomed the president of Guyana, Bharrat Jagdeo, to Iran, in the first visit by a Guyanese head of state. Guyana, with a significant Muslim population, is one of only two countries in the Americas which is a member of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference. The other is neighbouring Suriname. Jagdeo welcomed Iran’s active presence in Latin America and in the Caribbean region, and said that Guyana will make use of Iran’s experience in various fields. Mottaki signed two memoranda of understanding with Guyanese foreign minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, concerning political and visa services and Iranian development assistance to Guyana.[xi]
The priority given by Iran to its relations with Latin America has been noted in the Persian Gulf region, with Sadegh Kharrazi, Iran's former ambassador to Paris, complaining: "When the top priority of the country's diplomacy is given to Latin America and such countries as Bolivia and Venezuela, we should expect to be excluded from regional developments."[xii]
Iran sees friendly Latin American countries as part of its plan to establish an alternative world order in opposition to US and Western power. When discussing the progress of the Islamic Revolution, Iranian ambassador to Azerbaijan Mohammad Bagir Behrami commented: “Today changes taking place in Latin America may also serve as an example. We are confident that the Western culture built on injustice, hegemony, double standards in human rights had come to its end.”[xiii] The relations between Iran and its Latin American allies go beyond rhetoric. In January, Venezuela enacted an earlier agreement to lift visa requirements for Iranians visiting the country. Ecuador and Nicaragua had already done this. The visa agreements follows the introduction of weekly flights between Iran and Venezuela, which go via Syria, prompting speculation about members of Hezbollah using Venezuela as a base.[xiv] In 2008, the US Treasury Department froze the US assets of two Venezuelan citizens who were accused of supporting Hezbollah. Venezuelan diplomat Ghazi Nasr al Din was accused of facilitating the travel of Hezbollah members to and from Venezuela.[xv]
Iran versus the United States
Iran’s diplomatic activities in Latin America have come at a difficult time for the United States. The US-based Council on Foreign Relations argued that the Obama administration had had a disappointing first year in its relations with Latin America, and had missed out on opportunities for improvement.[xvi] This analysis has been shared more widely in the US minister, with the perception that US diplomacy is stumbling in the region.[xvii] A lack of progress on trade agreements, such as that between the US and Colombia; the difficulty of dealing with Honduras after the coup against Manuel Zelaya; and a perceived slowness of progress on relations with Cuba have been three major stumbling blocks. While increasing its cooperation with Iran, Brazil - the leading power in the region - has expressed dissatisfaction with the US over its handling of the Honduras crisis, and plans to expand its military presence in Colombia. Unsurprisingly, Hugo Chávez has completely abandoned earlier hints at a more conciliatory stance and has turned firmly against Obama, telling Venezuelans in his new year’s message: "Let's not kid ourselves: the Obama illusion has finished, and the shameless interventionism of the American administration shows that."[xviii]
The United States, for its part, has given voice to its frustration and concern over Iranian influence in the region, with secretary of state Hillary Clinton saying that cooperation with Iran "is a really bad idea for the countries involved." Clinton made the US position clear, stating: "This is the major supporter, promoter and exporter of terrorism in the world today. If people want to flirt with Iran, they should take a look at what the consequences might well be for them. And we hope that they will think twice."[xix]
Latin America and Iran’s Nuclear Programme
Iran’s heightened engagement with Latin America also comes at a time of ever more urgent concern over its nuclear programme. With the threat of enhanced sanctions, and possibly of a future military strike from Israel of the United States, Iran has been reaching out to all whatever potential friends it can find. The outreach to Latin America is part of a wider Iranian PR campaign to gain sympathy in the face of Western ‘threats’ and to block any consensus on tougher sanctions. Ahmadinejad’s tour of South America was followed by a campaign of diplomatic activity in the Middle East, with ministerial visits to countries such as Egypt, Turkey and Lebanon.[xx]
Yet Latin America remains a key battleground for Iran in trying to thwart the US-led drive for tougher sanctions. Hugo Chávez recently used the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution to congratulate Iran on its achievements in the nuclear field. He added that: "Venezuela clearly understands the struggle of Iran, because it is the same struggle for sovereignty. We must continue rejecting the claim of Yankee imperialism from the U.S. which seeks to prevent the economic and energy development in Iran." Chávez also showed that he considered Iran and its development of a nuclear programme as a model to follow, saying: "When we begin to develop our nuclear power as we will do, they will put their eyes on us and will say Chávez is building an atomic bomb".[xxi] Chávez has also given his backing to the Iranian line that the massive internal opposition being faced by the regime is controlled by the United States, with Venezuela’s foreign ministry releasing a statement saying “The government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela categorically rejects the attempts at destabilization promoted by the US government against the government and people of Iran.”[xxii] When the International Atomic Energy Agency passed a resolution in November calling on Iran to halt its uranium enrichment, two of the three countries which voted against the resolution were Latin American: Venezuela and Cuba.[xxiii]
In fact, Iran’s Latin American allies are actively seeking to aid Iran’s nuclear programme. Chávez announced last October that Iran was helping to explore and map Uranium deposits in Venezuela, with preliminary tests indicating large deposits.[xxiv] During his South American tour, Ahmadinejad signed an agreement with Bolivian leader Evo Morales for Iran to help develop Bolivia’s deposits of lithium, which is also used in nuclear development.[xxv] Last year an internal Israeli foreign ministry report claimed that both Venezuela and Bolivia were supplying Iran with uranium.[xxvi] This month, opposition politicians in Guyana, which also has uranium deposits, accused the government of helping Iran with its enrichment programme. Guyana’s foreign ministry did not comment on the allegations, which came after Guyanese president Bharrat Jagdeo announced a visit of a team of scientists from Iran after his state visit there.[xxvii]
Yet while the support of countries such as Venezuela, Bolivia and Cuba is nothing new, Iran’s greatest foreign policy coup in Latin America has been winning over Brazil to its side in the nuclear dispute. As well as saying the he supported Iran’s right to develop a “peaceful nuclear programme” and encouraging Iran to “continue engaging interested countries to seek a just and balanced solution on the Iranian nuclear issue,"[xxviii] Lula da Silva rejected efforts to stop Iran developing a nuclear weapon, saying: "There's no point in leaving Iran isolated."[xxix] The Brazilian government has just announced that, regardless of the massive internal repression being carried out in the Islamic Republic and Iran’s continued defiance of the United Nations over its nuclear programme, Lula da Silva is to go ahead with plans to visit the country on 15th May.[xxx]
Conclusion
However, Iran has not had things all its own way in Latin America. It has made little headway with big regional players such as Mexico, Argentina and Colombia.[xxxi] This month, the Brazilian government contradicted a claim by Iran’s atomic energy chief Ali Akbar Salehi that Brazil might enrich uranium for Iran as part of a deal. "There have not been any conversations about enriching nuclear fuel in Brazil," a Brazilian spokesman confirmed.[xxxii]
Yet across Latin America, Iran has been able to find willing partners in its aim of challenging the existing international order and US dominance. Iran has proved that is able to go beyond its anti-US allies in the leftist ALBA (Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas) bloc and secure the support of Brazil, the most powerful nation in the region and an emerging power firmly within the diplomatic mainstream. Even if Brazil has refused to assist with uranium enrichment, mutual state visits and Lula da Silva’s stated support for Iran’s ‘peaceful nuclear programme’ have given legitimacy to the Iranian regime and weakened the chances of international support for stronger sanctions. Countries such as the UK have backed Brazil’s bid to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council. Brazil’s dealings with Iran so far do not bode well for this idea.
The motives for Iran’s diplomacy are clear: to prevent international support for enhanced sanctions and to challenge the balance of power. Iran has been doing well: of the four emerging and re-emerging powers that have been labelled ‘BRIC’ (Brazil, Russia, India and China), at least three are now hostile to the idea of confronting Iran. Brazil’s motives are not so easy to ascertain. Its policy towards Iran may partly be driven by the Lula da Silva’s leftist power base in the Worker’s Party. But it is also partly driven by the desire to demonstrate an ‘independent’ foreign policy approach.[xxxiii] After an optimistic start in relations between Obama and Lula da Silva, in which Brazil’s role was welcomed, Brazil and the United States are now at risk of becoming rival powers in the Americas.
Across Latin America, the increased involvement of Iran threatens to have potentially disturbing consequences. The activities of Iranian agents and Hezbollah members in Latin America form just one example. As well as threatening relations with the United States and Europe, certain countries drawing closer to Iran poses a threat to relations between Latin American nations. A nuclear-armed Iran also poses the risk of repaying its closest allies by helping them to develop nuclear weapons of their own, bringing nuclear proliferation to the Western hemisphere. If the United States and the European Union are unable to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, with US forces based in neighbouring Iraq and NATO forces based in neighbouring Afghanistan, then why would they be able to stop countries such as Venezuela from acquiring nuclear weapons – particularly with a nuclear-armed Iran holding the rest of the world to ransom.
Aside from nuclear weapons, countries allying with a brutally repressive theocratic regime, which is taking on more and more of the trappings of a military dictatorship, does not bode well for the consolidation of democracy in Latin America. Associations with such a regime could threaten internal freedoms, and Iran’s influence could reinforce authoritarian traits in countries such as Venezuela. Alliances with a leading theocratic tyranny and the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism, with values and beliefs that are largely alien to Latin America, cannot be a positive factor in Latin American democracy and development.
Peter John Cannon is the Latin America Section Director of the Henry Jackson Society.
Notes
[i]'Brazilian president urges Iranian solution', BBC News, Monday 23rd November 2009, news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8373822.stm
[ii] Brazilian protests greet Ahmadinejad at start of South American tour, The Guardian, Monday 23rd November 2009, www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/nov/23/ahmadinejad-brazil-protests-iran
[iii] 'Brazilian president urges Iranian solution', BBC News, Monday 23rd November 2009, news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8373822.stm
[iv] 'Chávez awaits Iran's Ahmadinejad after warm Brazil visit', Christian Science Monitor, Wednesday 25th November 2009, www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/2009/1125/p06s01-woam.html
[v] Chavez welcomes Ahmadinejad in Venezuela, CNN, Wednesday 25th November 2009, edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/11/25/iran.ahmadinejad.venezuala/index.html
[vi] Ahm]adinejad hails anti-US 'brothers' on Venezuela trip
AFP, Wednesday 25th November 2009, www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gA4jWnW6hqZezzc1MryY5WNl09ug
[vii] Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iranian President, gets hero's welcome in Venezuela, The Times, Thursday 26th November 2009, http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article6932620.ece
[viii] 'Cuban deputy foreign minister meets Mottaki', Tehran Times, Wednesday 27th January 2010, www.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp?code=213107
[ix] 'Iran, Cuba seek expanded economic co-op', Tehran Times, Saturday 30th January 2010, www.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp?code=213286
[x] Nicaragua’s new ambassador meets Iran FM', Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sunday 14th February 2010, cms.mfa.gov.ir/cms/cms/Tehran/en/Ifrem/21118810
[xi]Guyana and Iran sign two MOUs, Caribbean Net News, 25th January 2010, www.caribbeannetnews.com/article.php?news_id=21062
[xii] 'Iran pours scorn on US missile upgrade in Gulf' Financial Times, Wednesday 3rd February 2010, www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e8948680-1062-11df-a8e8-00144feab49a.html
[xiii] 'Iran attaches special importance to its relations with Azerbaijan: ambassador', Tehran Times, Tuesday 2nd February 2010, www.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp?code=213507
[xiv] 'The Chavezjad Doctrine: Between Myth and Speculation', The Economist, 8th January 2010,
www.poder360.com/article_detail.php?id_article=3392
[xv] 'Fears of a Hezbollah presence in Venezuela', Los Angeles Times, 27th August 2008, articles.latimes.com/2008/aug/27/world/fg-venezterror27
[xvi] 'Obama's Disappointing Year in Latin America’, 12th January 2010, Council of Foreign Relations, www.cfr.org/publication/21177/obamas_disappointing_year_in_latin_america.html
[xvii] 'U.S. diplomacy stumbles in Latin America', Paul Richter, Los Angeles Times, 3rd January 2010, www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-fg-obama-latin3-2010jan03,0,2760671.story
[xviii] ‘Chavez says Obama "illusion" over’, Reuters, Monday 28th December 2009, www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5BR2CD20091228
[xix] ‘Latin America's Iran ties "a bad idea": Clinton’, Reuters, 11th December 2009, www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5BA2MC20091211
[xx] 'Iran aims to improve image in Arab world', Daily Telegraph, 25th December 2009, www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/6884485/Iran-aims-to-improve-image-in-Arab-world.html
[xxi] 'Venezuela Congratulates Iran's Nuclear Achievements', Hamsayeh, Friday 12th February 2010,
www.hamsayeh.net/hamsayehnet_iran-international%20news899.htm
[xxii] Venezuela slams US attempts to “destabilize” Iran, Washington TV, Wednesday 30th December 2009, televisionwashington.com/floater_article1.aspx?lang=en&t=3&id=16859
[xiii] 'Malaysia replaces UN envoy after Iran nuclear vote', eTaiwan News, 10th February 2010, www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=1177610&lang=eng_news
[xxiv] 'Chavez says Iran helping Venezuela find uranium', Reuters, Saturday 17th October 2009, www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE59G1WQ20091017
[xxv] 'Ahmadinejad wins support for Iran nuclear plan in Latin America', Haaretz, 25th November 2009, www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1130593.html
[xxvi] 'Secret document: Venezuela, Bolivia supplying Iran with uranium', Haaretz, 25th May 2009, www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1088087.html
[xxvii] 'Guyana opposition slams Iran uranium deal', Reuters, Wednesday 3rd February 2010, www.reuters.com/article/idUSN0319086020100203?type=marketsNews
[xviii] 'Brazilian president urges Iranian solution', BBC News, Monday 23rd November 2009, news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8373822.stm
[xxix] 'Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva welcomes Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad', Los Angeles Times, 23rd November 2009, latimesblogs.latimes.com/laplaza/2009/11/brazil-president-luiz-inacio-lula-da-silva-iran-president-mahmoud-ahmadinejad-nuclear-enrichment.html
[xxx] 'Hubris is behind Brazil's ties with Iran', Andres Oppenheimer, Miami Herald, Sunday 21st February 2010, www.miamiherald.com/2010/02/20/1491777/hubris-is-behind-brazils-ties.html
[xxxi] 'Ayatollahs in the backyard', The Economist, 26th November 2009, www.economist.com/world/americas/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14969124
[xxxii] 'Brazil not talking uranium enrichment with Iran: official', Petroleum World, Friday 5th February 2010, www.petroleumworld.com/story10020507.htm
[xxxiii] 'Brazil Steers an Independent Course', Wall Street Journal, January 7th 2010, Susan Kaufman Purcell, online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704107604574607882889843774.html