Iran seeks closer ties with Cuba

Iran wants to forge a “new path” in its relations with Cuba by tightening ties, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Monday at the start of a Latin American tour, reports AFP.
“It’s a very opportune moment to extend our relations,” he told journalists at the start of a meeting with Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez.
“We have always been on the side of the great Cuban people in the face of the atrocities and unjust sanctions they have faced, and vice versa,” he said, in an apparent reference to Cuba’s long history of enmity with the United States.
Cuba re-established diplomatic ties with the United States last year, but their historic rapprochement has not yet brought an end to the US embargo imposed on the communist island since 1962.
Zarif praised Cuba’s “resistance” to the United States, with which Iran has not had formal diplomatic relations since 1980. “We are going to forge a new path in our bilateral relations with Cuba,” he said, mentioning the energy, industrial and technology sectors as possible areas for cooperation.
Rodriguez for his part reiterated Cuba’s support for Iran in its dispute with the United States and other world powers over its nuclear program.

 

Iran seeks closer ties with Cuba

Iran wants to forge a new path in its relations with Cuba by tightening ties, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Monday at the start of a Latin American tour, reports AFP. Its a very opportune moment to extend our relations, he told journalists at the start of a meeting with Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez. We have always been on the side of the great Cuban people in the face of the atrocities and unjust sanctions they have faced, and vice versa, he said, in an apparent reference to Cubas long history of enmity with the United States. Cuba re-established diplomatic ties with the United States last year, but their historic rapprochement has not yet brought an end to the US embargo imposed on the communist island since 1962. Zarif praised Cubas resistance to the United States, with which Iran has not had formal diplomatic relations since 1980. We are going to forge a new path in our bilateral relations with Cuba, he said, mentioning the energy, industrial and technology sectors as possible areas for cooperation. Rodriguez for his part reiterated Cubas support for Iran in its dispute with the United States and other world powers over its nuclear program.