Venezuela, Cuba and Bolivia have also been silent allies in Iran's nuclear program, not only Argentina collaborated with Iran

Despite the recent US withdrawal of the nuclear agreement with Iran, the other countries that make up the pact (Russia, France, the United Kingdom, Germany and China) have ratified that they will continue to support Iran's nuclear program following the rules and conditions established. However, Iran believes that ending the program would be "impossible without US support". An option for Iran in these difficult times could be Latin America, which for more than 40 years has maintained nuclear relations under the table with this state of Middle East.

When evaluating the relationship between Iran and Latin America, it is noted that the leftist mindset is an important part to establish diplomatic relations. However, behind the ideological façade are numerous strategic and commercial agreements. These are the countries in Latin America that have collaborated in different ways with Iran's nuclear program:

Argentina

The BBC published a report in which the Argentine presence in Iran's nuclear program is framed. "The first official contact was a visit to Argentina in 1985 from a delegation of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), which was invited by the National Atomic Energy Commission of Argentina (CNEA, by its acronym in Spanish)", explained Darío Jinchuk, Argentinean nuclear physicist and private consultant. Beyond the official meeting with Iran, the expert also revealed a fact that is not exactly in the history books. In 1973, seven officers who had been dismissed from CNEA "advised Iran in the creation of the AEOI independently, making trips to that country for several years".

Later, with the Iranian nuclear organization established and its first meeting with Argentina consolidated, the Islamic country gained interest in "the Argentine collaboration in the manufacture of nuclear fuels". So, in 1988 the two countries signed a trade agreement for $10 million dollars "for the construction of a pilot plant for the purification and conversion of uranium", and another for $15 million for the "manufacture of fuel elements for research reactors", as the report of the BBC indicated. However, Argentina withdrew from these nuclear agreements due to the pressure from the international community, which cost them a million-dollar demand from Iran.

Venezuela

Since the times of Chavez, Iran and Venezuela are strategic allies. Beyond the hatred they share towards the United States, these two nations hide strategic and commercial agreements. According to the newspaper El Imparcial, Chávez was not only "the biggest defender of the nuclear program promoted by Ahmadinejad (former president of Iran), but one of the main partners of the Persian nation in Latin America".

In 2011, in the newspaper El Nacional it was suggested that there was interest of the Islamic Republic in the uranium from Venezuela. "The phosphate rocks near Navay, in Táchira, have a mineral content that can be used for nuclear purposes. The Iranian government has shown interest in the mines in the area, although it claims that the purpose is to produce fertilizers". The article also stressed that since the 50s, French, American and Venezuelan geologists have shown that the rocks of Navay have an "important potential for the uranium extraction", the main fuel of nuclear weapons.

Cuba

The political relationship between Iran and Cuba has an implicit symbolic alliance, since both are nations blacklisted by the US and have been rejected by the international community. According to the analyst Pablo Jofre Leal, Iran was one of the main benefactors of the Castro regime, along with Venezuela. The Persian country granted it about 700 million dollars in credits and in exchange for the Iranian gift, "Cuba has given the Ahmadinejad regime its knowledge for the construction of a biotechnology research and production center, as well as the loyal support of the leader of the Cuban Revolution towards the Iranian nuclear program", said the analyst.

Bolivia

The diplomatic relationship between Bolivia and Iran seemed to fit only by political affinity, until in 2012 Bolivian authorities found two tons of uranium in the capital of the country with a destination that was not disclosed. This raised international suspicions, and the assumptions linked Bolivia to Iran's nuclear program. Bolivia's relationship with the Persian country was openly close in the eyes of the world, as was Venezuela’s, where large quantities of nuclear ore have also been conveniently found.

Israel accused Iran of buying uranium from Venezuela and Bolivia: "Iran's diplomatic mission in Bolivia responds to Iranian interests in gaining access to uranium deposits", said Avigdor Lieberman, Israel’s Minister of Foreign Affairs on a cable leaked by WikiLeaks. However, both South American nations have denied the uranium exchange with Iran.

These Latin American countries not only maintain nuclear relations with the "Axis of evil" or countries considered terrorist by the United States. On the one hand, Bolivia has a nuclear agreement with Russia that contemplates the exploitation of uranium. On the other hand, Argentina has a nuclear agreement with the Netherlands, in search of increasing its energy production.

Despite the historical support of South America, public or secret, the panorama of Latin America does not look so good for Iran because of the drastic reduction of the Latin American left with respect to some years ago. "After a decade of victories in Latin America, the bloc of countries governed by populist leaders, such as Nicolás Maduro, in Venezuela; Evo Morales, in Bolivia, and Daniel Ortega, in Nicaragua, are in retreat", explained Emanuele Ottolenghi, an analyst at the Foundation Defense of Democracies (FDD) in Washington.

Latin American Post | María de los Ángeles Rubio

Translated from "Estos son los cuatro países latinoamericanos que han tenido relación con Irán en materia nuclear"