☫ Iran in Latin America I

Analysis  Iran in Latin America | Part 1

Imam Ali and The Fearless Tiger

This day are those who disbelieve in despair of ever harming your religion; so fear them not, fear Me.

Quran (5:3)

A mere day before the 2009 Iranian elections I receive a call from the BBC in my room in Tokyo. They want me in their “BBC World” radio show. As a staunch supporter of the Islamic Revolution, I am aware that their intentions are far from offering their audience al­ternative views. I accept nonetheless, suspecting their panel's utter incompetence at the to­pic that I planned to bring up: the interesting reach of Iranian influence in Latin America.

As expected, the mention of the Islamic Republic's successful ties in that corner of the world not only infuriates the handpicked couple of Iranian youth flown into the BBC's Tehran studio, Arash and Arezou, but prompts the BBC producer to cut my connection, thus breaking their initial promise to keep me on air throughout the show. What was it that they were so afraid of?

Someone Is Sensitive About Latin America

The BBC's reaction to my expression of support for Iran due to its positive relations with Latin America was not much of a surprise. In January of the same year, the US Defense Secretary, Robert Gates, gave away the American administration's fear over Iran's presence in their former backyard, by stating that he was

more concerned about Iranian meddling in the region than I am about the Russians.

Later that year, the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, desperately insisted, cautioning that 

if people (in Latin America) want to flirt with Iran, they should take a look at what the consequences might be for them. And we hope that they will think twice.

Regardless of the fact that interference in internal and/or external affairs of a sovereign State and people are in direct violation of the Charter of the United Nations, it is most interesting to ask where does this zealous jealousy come from.

Some Latin American countries were indeed emotionally blackmailed by such pressures, with a still-too-fresh memory of times when the United States covered the region in mili­tary coups and the blood of tens of thousands of people who, just as Gazans, voted for the 'wrong' party or leader. As Henry Kissinger thought, the issues were

much too important for the Chilean (or Latin American) voters to be left to decide for themselves,

thus per­ishing under CIA-backed puppets as Videla who best summed things up stating that 

as many people as necessary must die in Argentina (or Latin America) so that the country will again be secure.

However, not everyone in Latin America was intimidated, and those fearless ones have boosted their ties with Iran. Even when in 2010 US President, Barack Obama, resurrected the threats prohibiting the continent to establish ties with Iran, President Evo Morales of Bolivia replied, 

we are a sovereign country and we wont tolerate a single threat. He claims Iran exports terrorism, but who exports terrorism really? Those who send troops to invade other countries; those who build military bases there. Those are the ones practicing and enacting terrorism.

//End of part 1 (Next; ALBA Bloc: Communism or Justice?)