Under pressure at home and facing a fresh wave of economic sanctions, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is seeking the company of friends - in Latin America.
Starting today, Ahmadinejad will be on a tour that includes U.S. antagonists such as Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba and Ecuador.
The trip comes as the United States and the European Union are turning the screws on Iran in hopes of forcing it to halt its nuclear program. Iran insists its aims are peaceful, but many fear the regime has military ambitions.
U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has dubbed the visit the "Tour of Tyrants." The Florida Republican has called for secret briefings later this month to evaluate the administration's response to Iran's growing influence in the region.
Iraj Milani, the deputy in charge of the Iranian Embassy in Colombia, said the trip is designed to boost bilateral trade and find new opportunities for Iranian construction companies that have an expertise in tunnel and dam building. It comes as Iran's incipient trade in the region is surging, and the country is rolling out new embassies.
"Our government is simply trying to diversify its trading partners and promote more 'South-South' collaboration," he said. And Ahmadinejad is eager to promote regional unity among "nationalistic" leaders such as Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and Ecuador's Rafael Correa.
"But the United States is worried about this ongoing integration because it's not in their strategic interests," he said. "And it's taking place in a region that they have always considered their backyard."
The itinerary seems as much about provocation as business, said Stephen Johnson, director of the Americas Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington and the author of an upcoming report about Iran's influence in the region.
"In Latin America, (Iran) is obviously trying to be a thorn in the side of the United States," he said. While Iran is investing heavily in Latin America, it's unclear what the economic benefits are, he said.
"It seems the real target is the broader international audience," Johnson said, "and to make it look like Iran is having an influence in the United States' own neighborhood, as much as the U.S. is an influence in the Middle East."
good move by Iran. now feel what's called butthurt, uncle SaM.
