Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian President, has kick started his five days, four-nation Latin American tour on Sunday with Venezuela. The President of Iran and his entourage have reached the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, at around 6:30 pm ET. At the Simon Bolivar International airport, Caracas, Ahmadinejad is said to be given a red-carpet welcome by the Vice President of Venezuela and other officials. This is his fifth state visit.
Iran and Venezuela are counted among the top exporters of crude oil. They also have more than 250 trade agreements between them, apart from the fact that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hugo Chavez (President of Venezuela) are long-time allies.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s current visit to Latin American countries comes as a no surprise to experts. Currently, Iran is under triple threats – growing (economic) unrest at home, increasing isolation from the world and intense international threat to pull out from nuclear program or face more economic sanctions. In such a scenario, it is opined that Iran has little choice but to ramp up economic, military and political support from nations having similar political views as Iran.
But not everybody is happy in Venezuela about Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s state visit. Diego Arria, an upcoming political leader in the opposition, is quite critical and terms the trip as a “provocation” on Iran’s part and embarrassment for Venezuela.
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