Iran/Venezuela/Bolivia

Ahmadinejad hails alliance against 'imperialism'

Article published on the 2009-11-25 Latest update 2009-11-25 10:52 TU

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrives in Caracas
(Credit: Reuters)

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is in Caracas, Venezuela on Wednesday as he tours three leftist nations sympathetic to his administration. He was in La Paz on Tuesday, where he and Bolivian counterpart Evo Morales hailed their alliance against 'imperialism', referring to the US.

Ahmadinejad was greeted by Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro in Caracas late Tuesday.

"We have a solid foundation, a solid base that we have created over this decade in our relationship, and it shows how false are the attacks of the world empire," said Maduro.

Venezuela President Hugo Chavez has publicly backed Iran's right to a nuclear programme, and was also supported of Ahmadinejad's controversial re-election last June, which sparked widespread protests throughout Iran.

In Venezuela, the Jewish community protested Ahmadinejad's visit, issuing a statement that called him an "ominous" person.

His trip "gives legitimacy to a regime about which there are serious doubts over its transparency and legality," according to the statement.

Meanwhile, an advance team of Iranian businessmen representing 70 companies arrived in the Venezuelan capital on Monday for trade meetings.

On Tuesday, Ahmadinejad signed deals in Bolivia to expand a mining research deal in Bolivia's Alar de Uyuni salt desert. The area, located near the Chilean border, is the site of half of the world's known deposits of lithium-- some 100 million tons.

French, Japanese and South Korean companies have been competing to invest in the site. Lithium is a mineral used in batteries, cell phones and electric cars.