Iran’s Zarif on globetrotting push ahead of Biden presidency
Zarif’s trip to South America is unique, and is an attempt by Iran to show how much it has increased its stature as it emerges from an arms embargo.
By SETH J. FRANTZMANIran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif attends India-Iran business forum in New Delhi, India, January 8, 2019.(photo credit: REUTERS/ANUSHREE FADNAVIS)
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif is on a mission. He was sent on an unprecedented trip to South America last week to demonstrate Iran’s influence in Venezuela, Cuba and Bolivia. These countries are critical of or hostile to the US, and Iran wants to show its clout on America’s southern flank in the wake of the US election.His trip to South America is a unique attempt by Iran to show how much it has increased its stature as it emerges from an arms embargo.Zarif is now reportedly heading to Pakistan after having spoken to diplomats by phone in Chile and Nicaragua.US President Donald Trump’s administration – particularly Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Special Representative for Iran and Venezuela Elliott Abrams – wants to push new sanctions before its term is over.The Trump administration is threatening a flood of new sanctions, according to reports. Pompeo is said to be planning a trip to Israel. He was recently in India, a country that has a strategic relationship with Israel and is a key component to the US alliance system that links the region to the UAE and Greece.This is what Zarif wants to counter. He went to South America during the period of the US election to show that Iran and its allies have countered the US.Iran wants more gasoline and financial deals with Venezuela, and it wants to improve relations with Bolivia and Cuba. Bolivia has a new leader, and Tehran sees potential there. The Islamic Republic also sought out Chile and Nicaragua, the latter being a place where Iran thinks it can grow relations.Zarif’s trip to Pakistan is meant to counterbalance how the US has worked closely with India. In response to a question about the foreign minister’s visit to Pakistan, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said: “This trip has political, security and economic dimensions. Our relations are very excellent and we have very serious issues, and consultations have always been held at excellent levels.”According to Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency, in response to a question about Iran’s proposal to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Khatibzadeh said: “The framework for resolving the crisis is clear. Iran has welcomed any approach that contributes to this framework. It is important for us to resolve this three-decade crisis. The principles we follow, such as maintaining borders and resolving occupied cities, are inviolable for us to keep the demographics of the region intact.”Iran thus appeared to support the right of Armenians to remain in Nagorna-Karabakh under Azerbaijani control. Tehran has been worried about Turkish-backed extremists sent to fight in the area and based near Iran’s border with Azerbaijan.
