5G in Africa: What’s its potential, Selasi Ahorlumegah?
Naa Oyoe Quartey
With its fast speeds and revolutionary potential, 5G stands out as a noteworthy milestone in the field of […]
Iranian Supreme Leader meets with Cuban president amid Hamas-Israel war; calling for a coalition against the “bullying of America and the West”
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei meets with Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, in Tehran, Iran December 4, 2023. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY
Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, on Monday, met with the President of Cuba, Miguel Diaz-Canel, visiting Tehran accompanied by a high-ranking delegation.
The Cuban President arrived in Tehran on Sunday, December 3rd, and was received in a welcoming ceremony held in the Saad Abad complex with the presence of Ebrahim Raisi, the president of the Islamic Republic.
It has been 22 years since the last visit of Fidel Castro, the former president of this country, to Iran.
Iranian media announced the purpose of this trip was the beginning of a new round of relations between the two countries and the signing of documents and memorandums of political and economic cooperation. According to local media, in the presence of the presidents and other top officials of Iran and Cuba, seven cooperation documents were signed in various sectors including science and technology, health, agriculture, energy and mining, communications and medicine.
The Cuban president is visiting Iran amid the Israel-Hamas war. Both countries have hostile relations with Israel and have cut ties with Israel and the United States for years. It seems that the anti-American and anti-Israel sentiments shape commonalities for the reconnection of the two. US sanctions imposed against these two countries and the possibility of circumventing them through cooperation appears to be another motivation for the two states to reconnect.
In a meeting with the President of Cuba, the President of Iran, Ebrahim Raeesi, called the common denominator of the two countries “resistance” against US sanctions.
He listed “strengthening of cooperation and exchange of capacity between countries under sanctions” as effective solutions to neutralize sanctions and emphasized the need to form a coalition with the participation of all aligned countries to support Palestine in different continents.
The President of Cuba also said in this meeting that Iran has a “high value and meaning” for Cuba. He condemned the “Israeli genocide” and stressed the necessity of “trying to stop these crimes immediately”.
Iranian supreme leader also stated in the meeting: ” Capacities (of the two countries) must be used to form an alliance. A coalition between the countries that share the same position against the American and Western threats should be implemented.”
In this regard, Shahriar Heydari, Vice Chairman of the Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, in an interview with IRNA, pointed out the geographical proximity of Cuba and other Latin American countries to the United States of America and emphasized that the expansion of relations with these countries in terms of strategy and international relations It is very important for Iran.
