Tehran, Iran, August 23
By Mehdi Sepahvand – Trend:
Some Iranian politicians believe that President Hassan Rouhani administration has failed to follow up on Tehran’s Latin America project, therefore damaging the interests of the Islamic Republic there.
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif’s current trip to Latin America is a latecomer and Iran has lost many chances in the three years after the previous administration ended, Hamid Reza Taraqi, foreign relations director of the Islamic Coalition Party, told Trend August 23.
“Our friends in Latin America had helped us greatly in the time of sanctions and supported Iran on the resistance front. But we left these friends to themselves and did not pay attention to their needs and problems,” he said.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad established unprecedented ties between Tehran and Latin American countries during his presidency (2005-2013). Isolated by harsh sanctions and receiving no invitation from Western leaders, Ahmadinejad traveled extensively throughout the region, establishing even highly personal bonds with the regional leaders.
Zarif embarked on a trip to six Latin American countries August 22, heading to Cuba, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Chile, Bolivia and Venezuela successively. The trip comes as less than one year remains of the incumbent Iranian government’s tenancy.
“Today Western countries have infiltrated and created instability in Venezuela and Bolivia, waging great political loss in Iran’s previous hegemony there,” Taraqi went on to say.
“Zarif is unlikely to rebuild the hegemony and regain the influence. Yet even if he succeeds in his negotiations there, it can help Iran move closer to its positions in the US backyard.”
Some attribute the Rouhani administration’s tardy turn to Latin America as part of the long and tedious process of rebuilding ties with the West, which culminated in the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action only in February 2016.