2023-06-14 01:24:00
LIranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who is on a mini-tour of Latin America, said in Venezuela on Tuesday that former US President Donald Trump had shown his “true face” and called for “no kowtowing” in front of “the ‘enemy”.
“The words (…) of the former president of the United States, Donald Trump, reveal his true face and the intentions of imperialism”, said the Iranian president elected in 2021, in reference to a speech by Mr. Trump at a June 10 Republican convention in North Carolina.
The former American president had declared: “We are buying oil from Venezuela. When I left (left the presidency), Venezuela was very close to collapsing. We would have had all this oil”.
According to Mr. Raisi, “if anyone is looking to know about imperialism, I think Donald Trump’s latest statements have been the clearest and most expressive and they show his true face. He practically confessed that what they seek is to plunder the resources of the people”.
“Some people believe that bowing causes the enemy to back down, but this is a mistaken calculation. The enemy who intends to plunder all the resources (…) of a people does not respect the will of the latter and never backs down in front of kowtows”, added Mr. Raïsi, paying homage to “the heroic Venezuelan people”, who “resisted” “world imperialism”.
“It is always through resistance and steadfastness that we can make the enemy retreat and bend,” added the Iranian president, calling for a “new world order” and “to modify the mechanisms, the legislation and the rules of international bodies, including the United Nations and, in particular, the Security Council”.
Tehran is one of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s main international allies. The two countries, members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), are subject to American sanctions intended to hamper their economies.
On Monday evening, President Maduro had also criticized Mr. Trump’s remarks.
Mr. Raisi left Venezuela in the middle of the day to continue his tour in Nicaragua where he was welcomed in the evening by Foreign Minister Denis Moncada, according to government media.
This is the second visit of an Iranian president to Nicaragua after those of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2007 and 2012, already to meet Daniel Ortega, in power continuously since 2007.
Mr. Ortega notably defended in February the right of Iran to acquire nuclear weapons.
Ebrahim Raisi should conclude his tour in Cuba, another political ally of Tehran in Latin America. The last visit of an Iranian president to Cuba dates back to 2016 with that of Hassan Rohani, who also visited Venezuela, before participating in the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
14/06/2023 01:22:57 – Caracas (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
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