Iran's president to visit three U.S.-sanctioned Latin American countries next week

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi plans to visit Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela next week, three Latin American countries that are sanctioned by the United States. 

The visit comes after the presidents from all three Latin American countries invited President Raisi to visit. Raisi will depart Tehran on Sunday and will be accompanied by a high-ranking delegation on his tour of Caracas, Managua, and Havana. 

Raisi’s visit is motivated by plans to expand bilateral cooperation between Iran and each of the three countries, according to Iran’s state news agency IRNA. Raisi and his counterparts—Nicolas Maduro from Venezuela, Daniel Ortega from Nicaragua, and Miguel Diaz-Canel from Cuba— are expected to sign agreements, particularly regarding economic, political, and scientific issues, No further details of the possible agreements were provided. 

Following the seizure of the U.S. embassy in Tehran in 1979, Iran has also been sanctioned by the United States. Iranian officials have claimed that the sanctions, despite being aimed at isolating the country, have ended up in failure. 

Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela are Iran’s regional allies. All three of them are led by leftist governments and have been heavily sanctioned by the United States. 

Raisi, who assumed office in August 2021, has expressed his willingness to reinforce tires with the three Latin American countries. The tour this week will mark his first official visit to the three countries. 

However, previous high-ranking Iranian officials have visited Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. In February of this year, Iranian Foreign Minister Hsein Amir Abdolahian visited the countries as part of a Latin America tour. He met with several senior officials in each country during his visit.