IRAN’S PRESIDENT, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is due to touch down in Venezuela tomorrow on the first leg of a Latin American tour designed to lift the regime out of international isolation and bolster its sanctions-hit economy.
Ahmadinejad, who is facing growing economic discontent at home and pressure from the west over Iran’s disputed nuclear programme, will also visit Nicaragua, Cuba, Ecuador and possibly Guatemala seeking new and improved economic partnerships to lessen the impact of sanctions.
The five-day Latin America visit is scheduled to start in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, with meetings with president Hugo Chavez, a long-time ally.
Ahmadinejad should then travel to Managua for the swearing-in of the Nicaraguan president, Daniel Ortega, before travelling to Cuba and Ecuador and possibly Guatemala. The president’s entourage is expected to include the energy minister, Majid Namjoo, who has said the tour is aimed at promoting commercial ties with Latin American countries.
Analysts view Ahmadinejad’s excursion as a reaction to growing economic difficulties at home and political isolation abroad.
Michael Shifter, president of the Washington-based think tank Inter-American Dialogue, said Iran had both economic and geopolitical agendas in Latin America.
“Iran has real economic difficulties and is isolated, so the trip makes sense in that context,” he said. “Latin America, in contrast, is in pretty good economic shape and is increasingly active in global, diplomatic affairs.”
Maria Teresa Romero, professor of international studies at the Universidad Central de Venezuela, said the trip was also intended as a warning signal to Washington.
“That Iran’s president has chosen to visit the region – and only the more staunch political opponents to the US – at a moment when tensions between the US and Iran are escalating is a challenge, a threat, from the Iranian government to the US that sends a clear message: ‘We can go to your backyard when we want to’,” she said.
Iran's currency, the rial, has plunged in recent weeks, causing mayhem at the Iranian stock market and prompting fears over the future effects of the sanctions on the economy. – Guardianservice 2012