Iran and Venezuela strengthen ties

The Canadian Press
September 17, 2006

CARACAS, Venezuela -- Iran's president is making his first visit to Venezuela on Sunday, seeking to strengthen ties with a government that also opposes the United States and has become a leading defender of his country's nuclear ambitions.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said he and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez are like "brothers" in a great global struggle. Chavez has promised to argue for Iran's nuclear program if he wins a rotating seat on the UN Security Council in a vote next month.

Chavez has said Venezuela "will stand together with Iran at all times and under any conditions," accusing the United States of planning to invade Iran.

The two leaders are united by deep-seated opposition to Washington and to Iran's archenemy Israel, which Chavez accused of committing a new Holocaust in its bombardments in Lebanon.

Iran insists its nuclear program is aimed solely at generating electricity, despite concerns among U.S. and some European governments that it could be trying to develop atomic weapons. Chavez accuses Washington of using the nuclear issue as a pretext to justify an attack on a regime it opposes.

In the last few days, Chavez has sought to drum up support for Iran at the Non-aligned Movement summit in Cuba.

"I ask for full support for the government and the people of Iran in developing their sovereign right to move forward with (nuclear) research," Chavez told fellow leaders Thursday in Havana.

"It's part of the formula of the future - nuclear energy. We aren't talking about atomic bombs."

The United States, meanwhile, has been lobbying against Venezuela's bid for a Security Council seat, supporting Guatemala instead.

Together with Iran, Cuba and Syria, Chavez is seeking to form "a new world order" opposing traditional U.S. dominance, said Venezuelan political analyst Alberto Garrido, who writes in a new book, "Las Guerras de Chavez" or "Chavez's Wars," about the Venezuelan leader's growing ties to the Middle East.

Garrido said the secret-ballot vote in the UN General Assembly in mid-October should measure which government has been more successful on the international stage: Venezuela or the United States.

"It will decide how anti-U.S. the posture of countries in the UN is," Garrido said.

"If the political situation has changed so much that the vote leans toward the radical position represented by Venezuela, it would be a warning for the United States."

Venezuela and Iran, both major oil-producing countries, have proposed pricing their oil in euros, rather than U.S. dollars, a move Garrido said likely would disrupt the U.S. economy by decreasing reliance on dollars. The United States remains the No. 1 buyer of oil from Venezuela, despite increasing political tension.

Meanwhile, Iran and Venezuela have signed a series of accords for their state oil companies to explore for and extract oil and natural gas.

After initial talks Sunday in Caracas, Chavez and Ahmadinejad will visit an oil field Monday for a ceremony marking the start of joint drilling. They also plan a tour to a joint-venture tractor-assembly factory.

The two presidents will conclude 20 commercial accords, including plans to set up a joint petrochemical company, produce surgical tools and help train Venezuelan iron foundry workers, said Jose Khan, Venezuela's basic industries minister.

The two countries already have signed more than 80 co-operation pledges since early last year, said Alcides Rondon, former deputy foreign minister for the Middle East.

Venezuela and Iran have agreed to set up an investment fund worth about C$225 million and Iran has agreed to build 10,000 homes in Venezuela. The two governments plan to set up factories to produce bricks, cement and bicycles and Chavez said they will manufacture cars together.

After Ahmadinejad's two-day visit, both leaders will head to New York City for the UN General Assembly.