Iran's President Begins Latin America Tour with Stop in Venezuela

In his first visit to Latin America, Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi on Monday met with his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolás Maduro and declared that both countries have “a common enemy,” alluding to the US, before signing a series of cooperation agreements.

Raisi's visit to Venezuela came a year and a day after Maduro visited him in Iran. Both countries are under heavy U.S. economic sanctions.

Raisi said that the relationship between the two countries is "not a normal one, but rather a strategic one," and insisted that their two countries have "common interests and we have common enemies."

“They do not want the two countries, Iran and Venezuela, to be independent,” Raisi said, referring to the US government. His tour of allied countries in Latin America, including Cuba and Nicaragua, comes amid escalating tensions with US President Joe Biden's administration.

The United States has accused Iran of providing Russia with materials to build a drone factory east of Moscow, while the Kremlin seeks to ensure a steady supply of weapons for an invasion of Ukraine.

US intelligence officials believe that the factory in Russia may start operations early next year, but Iran said it provided Russia with drones before the start of the war.

The more than dozen agreements signed by officials from the countries Monday include scholarships for Venezuelan students and the importation of cattle to Iran. 

Maduro's visit to Iran last year resulted in agreements to expand ties in the oil and petrochemical industries, the military, and the economy. But only a handful of agreements have materialized.

Venezuela and Iran have maintained close relations since the government of the late President Hugo Chavez. Maduro, who became president in 2013 after Chavez's death, has encouraged trade ties with Iran, China, Russia, and Turkiye in an effort to offset the effects of economic sanctions.

Iran, especially since 2020, has helped alleviate part of the fuel shortage in Venezuela.

“We are on the right side of history and together we will be invincible,” Maduro said.