Ayatollah Ebrahim Raisi in Latin America
Ayatollah Ebrahim Raisi in Latin America
Iran, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba forge a counterhegemonic alliance
Seyed Ebrahim Raisi was born in 1960 in the Nogham district of Mashad in Iran in the breast of a family of Persian clerics. He entered the seminary of the Holy City of Qom at the age of fifteen. He studied theology at the Ayatollah Mousavinejad School of Theology and obtained a doctorate in jurisprudence at Shahid Motahari University.
He began his career in the judicial system in 1980, when at twenty years of age he was among the first group of young clerics to be appointed to the newly established Islamic judicial system following the triumph of the Islamic Revolution in 1979. His work attracted the attention of the highest leaders of the Revolution, and he was appointed to various high judicial positions from 1989 to 2021, including Attorney General of Iran (2014 to 2016) and President of the Judicial Power of Iran (2019 to 2021).
Raisi was a presidential candidate of the Popular Front of the Forces of the Islamic Revolution in 2017, finishing second in the voting. He again presented himself as a presidential candidate in 2021, when he won the elections with 61.95% of the vote. Under Raisi’s presidency, Iran has developed a strong foreign policy, recovering its historic road as a central actor in the region, with a commitment to peace and regional stability.
Iran and Venezuela sign 25 agreements of cooperation
Ayatollah Raisi initiated a tour of Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba with a June 12 meeting with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. A press release emitted by the government of Venezuela described the purpose of the dialogue as the strengthening of strategic alliances, based in the principles of friendship, solidarity, and mutual respect, in keeping with the common effort to increase cooperation in order to promote shared development. Delegations of both countries attended the meeting, following which authorities of the two nations signed twenty-five agreements in various areas.
Maduro declared that the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela have been constructing solidarity between their two peoples based on cooperation between their two revolutions. He also affirmed that Iran is playing a significant role as one of the more important emerging powers of the emerging new world order. He noted that Iran has an impressive industrial, scientific, and technological development, and the Persian nation is becoming a reference point for the peoples that struggle for their independence and for social justice.
For his part, the Iranian President asserted that Iran and Venezuela have a strategic relation based in common interests, political positions, and visions. Both nations are committed to anti-imperialist resistance in the pursuit of independence, freedom, and justice. Both countries have the political will of commitment to development through bilateral cooperation. Both Iran and Venezuela today are decided to increase and deepen bilateral cooperation in production, commerce, energy, culture, science, and technology.
In distinct settings on June 13, the Iranian president declared that the sanctions constitute a war against countries that do not conform with U.S. policies, countries like Iran that are independent, self-sufficient, and have a diversity of exportations. Previously, military force was the instrument of domination, but now sanctions are used to break the will of the peoples.
Raisi pointed out the importance of relations among the sanctioned countries to alleviate the effect of the sanctions. He referred to such countries as “friends of difficult moments,” among which is the friendship between Iran and Venezuela.
Iran has relations with Venezuela in a variety of political, economic, and social areas. Raisi noted that there is a high capacity for exchange between the two countries, and both parties are working on increasing and advancing interchange. The visit of President Maduro to Iran was a great stimulus to the development of cooperation in science, technology, energy, and agriculture.
The United States, Raisi maintains, seeks to advance its interests and maintain hegemony over Latin America. Trump recently acknowledged this reality, with revelations that his administration was seeking to usurp and plunder the petroleum reserves of Venezuela. Latin America has been seen by the United States as its backyard, and it sanctions Venezuela as punishment for its quest for independence.
Raisi observed that the present world reality is shaped by a conflict between U.S. hegemony and countries that want independence and cooperation. There is a war of wills between the peoples that want to be independent and a hegemonic system that wants to break the will of all. Raisi believes that the independent peoples are going to be victorious; we will put an end to unilateralism and create a multipolar world, he declared. Cooperation among independent countries is emerging as the future reality.
Imperialism does not respect the vote of the people, Raisi declared. It does not permit the people of Venezuela, Cuba, and Palestine to decide their future. It interferes in the internal affairs of countries. It wants to impose unilateralism.
Concerning use of nuclear energy, the Irani President reiterated that Iran has always said that its nuclear activities are pacific, and Iran never has sought to develop nuclear arms. Inspectors of the Atomic Energy Commission have found on fifteen occasions that Iran is not developing nuclear arms. Iran has complied with all the agreements of the Atomic Energy Commission, but the United States and the participating European countries have not.
The First Lady of Iran, Jamileh Alamolhoda, the author of a book entitled “The Pedagogical Philosophy of the Movement of Imam Jomeini,” granted an exclusive interview to the Venezuelan television news outlet TeleSur. In response to questioning, she discussed the equal rights of women, framing the issue in a manner different from the West. She maintains that women in Iran have full rights to pursue intellectual, academic, scientific, and professional work, but “they do not wish to cease being women,” and they are dedicated to fulfilling the necessary social role of caring for small children “on their laps,” necessary for the maintenance and continued development of culture and civilization. She maintains that teaching Iranian girls to have disdain for their role in the family is a form of cultural imperialism, designed to undermine the capacity of the Iranian people to resist.
The twin revolutions of 1979
The Iranian delegation arrived in Nicaragua in the evening of June 13, where it was received by Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and other government officials and representatives of Nicaraguan society. In his address welcoming Raisi, Ortega declared that the revolutions in Iran and Nicaragua both triumphed in 1979, and they therefore have always been considered in Nicaragua as twin revolutions, both of which have struggled against imperialism in defense of their lands and peoples, an imperialism that always has wanted to dominate the world, not for good, but for evil.
Raisi affirmed that the people of Iran know very well the struggles of the Nicaraguan people against imperialism. The Nicaraguan people struggled against the plundering, the demands, and the illegitimate desires of the empire, and they triumphed. Therefore, there is much similarity between the Islamic Revolution of Iran and the Sandinista Revolution of Nicaragua. They are movements that seek independence and social justice.
Raisi invoked the teachings of Imam Jomeini, who taught that faith in God and faith in our own capacities are the two main dimensions necessary for the triumph of a revolution. Such faith in two dimensions has enabled the people of Iran to triumph over imperialism, Raisi stressed. The people of Iran desire that all social gains are grounded in religious principles. With these qualities, the people of Iran have been able to overcome the deceptions and tricks of imperialism.
At the same time, Raisi noted, the Islamic revolution has constructed a democratic system, in that popular voting determines all officials of the government. Imam Jomeini stressed that the vote of the people must have the highest priority; he maintained that the government should be in the service of the will of the people. In contrast, the United States pretends to be democratic, but it lies about its true interests. The United States and world imperialism violate human rights throughout the world. The Western powers do not respect the political will of the people.
Raisi further observed that the United States wanted to paralyze the Iranian people through threats and sanctions. But it could not do so. The people converted the threats and the sanctions into an opportunity, and they have attained great advances in different areas. This demonstrates that if a people have a strong will, no power can stop it.
Imperialism seeks to deceive the revolutionary peoples of the world. But a new world order, Raisi declared, that will favor the peoples and not the imperialisms is being forged. Our two peoples of Nicaragua and Iran have forged revolutions. We have developed strategic relations. We are committed to deepening relations in all areas, especially technology.
In an address to deputies of the National Assembly of Nicaragua, Raisi observed that Central America is the territory of great men that have struggled for freedom and self-determination. Imperialism has always been opposed to the freedom of Latin America. World imperialism always seeks to exploit and to defy the political will of the peoples. The two peoples of Iran and Nicaragua share a struggle against a common enemy. They have a common history of resistance and respect for freedom. The have sought to comply with democracy and with the political will of the majority, always facing the plots and coups de d’état of the imperialists.
There are two political wills in the world, Raisi maintained. On the one side, the will of the people, who look for freedom and justice; and on the other, the will of imperialism, which seeks to protect and maintains its interests in the world. The lesson from history is that the people who believe in God will triumph.
Why, the Iranian President asked, is imperialism unhappy with a government that complies with the political will of the people? Why do they react destructively to the phenomenon? Why do the USA and other Western countries that pretend to believe in democracy act against the political will of the people in countries like Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and some countries in Latin America?
The economic sanctions, Raisi maintains, are part of a larger campaign that pretends to be a struggle against terrorism, but in actuality the imperialists themselves have created terrorist groups, as they have acknowledged, in imposing their will on all the countries of the Middle East. But the people see through the pretense. In Latin America, great leaders have emerged to guide the people in the struggle for independence and social justice.
The present world is changing. The sign of this is the decadence of the imperialist powers, Raisi maintains. At the same time, the people are strengthening themselves every day.
The people’s vote is against imperialism, so imperialists have to impede the popular vote. The imperialist media seek to seed doubt in the minds of the people, especially the youth. Imperialism seeks to rule through the countries’ elites, who become the voice of imperialism. Therefore, Raisi maintains, the revolution must devote time to conscientization. Teaching in the underdeveloped countries is very important.
Iran has made great technological advances, Raisi notes, but the enemy does not pardon our advance. There were disturbances during the past year in Iran, Raisi further observed, as a result of a thoroughly planned campaign. They thought that they would bring down the Islamic Revolution. But they were wrong, because the revolution is not a young tree, but a strong tree, rooted in history.
The President concluded by stressing that the Islamic Republic of Iran seeks justice. In its foreign policy, it had good relations with independent nations. Its relations with independent countries in Latin America, like Nicaragua, are strong. “We have the will to strengthen our relations, and there is much potential in this regard. We are disposed to share our knowledge and our understanding with Latin America.”
Three accords between Iran and Nicaragua were signed on June 14. The first concerns the creation of a mixed intergovernmental commission for economic and commercial cooperation and scientific-technical interchange. The second is an agreement of cooperation between the judicial systems of the two countries. And the third treats issues of health and medicine.
A relation of 44 years between two revolutions
President Seyed Ebrahim Raisi arrived in Cuba in the evening hours of June 14. He was received at the José Martí International Airport in Havana by Cuban Minister of Foreign Relations Bruno Rodríguez.
Iran and Cuba have maintained bilateral relations for more than forty years. Relations were reestablished between the two nations on August 8, 1979, following the triumph of the Islamic Revolution. Various bilateral agreements have been signed during four decades in such areas as the transfer of biotechnological products, nanotechnology, food security, and other areas of common interest.
In the morning of June 15, Raisi participated in the Cuba-Iran Economic Forum, held in the Hotel Nacional. In the meeting between Cuban and Persian businesspersons, Iran reaffirmed its decision to continue working with Cuba in various areas of common interest, such as science and technology. The Irani President noted that biotechnology has been an important area of cooperation, and he noted that the exchange can be extended to other sectors, such as energy, mining, and technology.
The presidents of the two countries together toured the Center of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, internationally known for its research and production of vaccines. Raisi and the Iranian delegation learned of the advances of Cuban scientists in biotechnology, as well as the potential for mutual development in this field. Mayda Mauri, Vice President of the Cuban group BioCubaFarma, which consists of forty-six companies with more than 19,000 workers, explained the wide gamut of innovative products that have been developed by said group. Vicente Vérez Bancomo, Director of the Finlay Institute for Vaccines in Cuba, reviewed cooperation between the two countries in scientific research, which has included the collaboration of the Finlay Institute with the Pasteur Institute of Iran for the joint production of a Cuban vaccine against Pneumococcus. Vérez Bancomo noted that Iran is the only country that has signed an agreement with Cuba for the transfer of the technology of Cuban vaccines against SARS-COV-2.
In the afternoon of June 15, presidents Raisi and Díaz-Canel and the two delegations participated in a meeting of dialogue at the Palace of the Revolution, which reviewed ways of continuing to develop economic and commercial ties of cooperation. In said encounter, Raisi observed that the relations between Cuba and Iran were changed completely by the triumph of the Islamic Revolution, when a relation between the two revolutions was founded and has been strengthening during the last forty-four years. Above all in recent years and during the COVD-19 pandemic, when projects of scientific cooperation and interchange were carried out, especially in biotechnology and the production of vaccines. Today, the Irani president noted, Cuba and Iran have many points in common, as both nations have the intention of maintaining the independence of their nations.
During the meeting, the ministers of Foreign Relations, Justice, and Communication signed six agreements and memoranda of understanding. Among them was a Program of Integral Cooperation, which seeks to expand the present level of friendship, cooperation, and understanding between Iran and Cuba in support of international peace, justice, and stability; and an agreement to increase collaboration in information technology and communication.
Conclusion
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel expressed to Ayatollah Raisi:
“You have visited three countries that have a significant relation with the Revolution of Iran: Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba. These nations, along with Iran, have had to heroically confront with tenacious resistance the sanctions, pressures, threats, blockades, and interferences of Yankee imperialism and its allies. Your visit expresses a unity among those that have been compelled to construct societies different from what the Yankee paradigm wants to impose, and therefore, we have been submitted to unjustifiable and inhumane blockades and sanctions. Your visit is a message that we are united, that we are not renouncing our convictions, and that we are all going to take advantage of the potential that we have for complementary exchange, making ourselves stronger in the confrontation with the empire.”
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