As the United States, Britain, Germany and France threaten Iran with sanctions over its nuclear program, Iran can at least count support from its loyal friend, Venezuela. Al Jazeera quoted Chavez as stating, “We are certain that Iran, as it has shown, will not back down in its effort to obtain what is a sovereign right of the people: to have all the equipment and structures to use atomic energy for peaceful purposes.” He further stated, ” There is not a single proof that Iran is building … a nuclear bomb. Soon they will accuse us of also building an atomic bomb.”
This weekend Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez visited Iran on an official visit, once again highlighting the close relationship shared between the two countries and their mutual distrust of the United States. Along with supporting Iranian nuclear program, Chavez also agreed to export 20,000 barrels of petrol daily to Iran from October in a deal worth $800 million. As AFP notes, because of a lack of domestic refining capacity, oil-rich Iran is dependent on petrol imports to meet about 40 percent of domestic consumption. Moreover, the proposed sanctions on the Iranian nuclear program are to punish Iran by targeting its heavy reliance on petrol imports and other refined oil products.
The money from the oil export will be used by Venezuela to finance purchase of machinery and technology from Iran. Both sides also agreed to inject 100 million dollars in the joint Iran-Venezuela bank within the next 30 days.
So how did friendship blossom between the two countries? The answer is pragmatic interests. In the Asia Times article, Iran-Venezuela ties worry US, John Walsh, a Senior Associate at the Washington Office on Latin America, is quoted as saying:
“My sense, with regard to Iran’s interests in a more high-profile relationship with Venezuela, is that it is part of (Iran’s) strategy of balancing its own geopolitical prospects,” Mr. Walsh told IPS. “If it feels hemmed in, which it does, and insecure at home, it is another card to play, in terms of how it relates to, in particular, the U.S.”
Mr. Chavez’s benefits from Iran also go beyond economic and military interests. “If you believe, as Chavez does, that we are now in a multipolar, as opposed to a unipolar moment, then relationships among countries normally considered peripheral are going to take on increasing importance,” said Mr. Walsh.
Similar point is made in the CSIS discussion, Assessing the Iran-Venezuela Relationship. In this discussion, Dr. Meyers, Professor of Political Science at Pennsylvania State University, points out that Chavez and Ahmadinejad have shared interests, which includes efforts to counter isolation, opposition to the United States, and wanting access to both military and petroleum technology.
Picture taken from Al Jazeera.