Brazil Allows Iranian Warships To Dock in Rio Despite US Opposition
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Loading... - Caio Carlos
- 06 Mar 2023
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Brazilian President Lula has shown interest in strengthening ties with Iran, while positioning his country as an "international arbiter able to negotiate a resolution to ongoing conflicts," expert says
Brazil’s government allowed two Iranian warships to dock in a port in the coastal city of Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, despite Washington’s pressure to restrict the arrival of the ships to Brazilian ports. Meanwhile, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who came to power in January, intends to position Brasilia as a neutral international power and has shown in the past interest in strengthening ties with the Islamic Republic.
The move will serve to probe the American response to such a maneuver, according to Torbjorn Soltvedt, the principal MENA analyst at risk intelligence firm Verisk Maplecroft.
“The visit will allow both Iran and Brazil to test the waters and gauge how the Biden Administration will react to a move Brasilia knows will go down badly in Washington,” he told The Media Line.
Dr. Andrei Serbin Pont, an international analyst and the executive director of CRIES, a think tank based in Buenos Aires, added that Iran has been proactively engaging with Latin American and Caribbean countries in recent years in a bid to highlight its capabilities for projecting influence far beyond its borders.
Historically, Serbin Pont told The Media Line, this engagement has primarily focused on more radicalized anti-US governments in the region such as Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua. However, he added that today, Tehran also is focusing on important US partners such as Brazil and Panama. Read More..
