HAVANA: Cuba and Iran s foreign ministers met in Havana on Friday to reinforce their mutual support in the face of crippling US sanctions.
Cuba s official newspaper Granma said Bruno Rodriguez and Iran s Mohammad Javad Zarif would mark “the mutual solidarity between both nations, faced with the toughening of sanctions by the current US administration on countries that don t bend to its will.”
US President Donald Trump s administration pulled out of the Iran nuclear agreement and has announced more than 130 measures to reinforce the embargo Cuba has faced since 1962.
“Cuba will support the peaceful use of nuclear energy and technology to contribute to socio-economic development, and will condemn the decision of the United States government to unilaterally withdraw from… the Nuclear Agreement with Iran,” added Granma.
It said the US decision “violates the rules of coexistence between states, and could provoke serious consequences for stability and security in the Middle East.”
Zarif s visit to Cuba comes two days after he arrived in Venezuela, another regional ally subject to US sanctions.
Granma said Zarif and Rodriguez “will talk about possible commercial links and cooperation” with Cuba s Deputy Prime Minister Ricardo Cabrisas.
The US embassy in Havana responded to Zarif s visit with a Tweet from Washington s top diplomat in Latin America, Michael Kozak.
“Iran s Zarif and the Castro regime have a lot in common: human rights abuses, authoritarianism, stealing Venezuela s wealth, and the propagation of their malign influence throughout the world. Their relationships underscore their lack of legitimacy,” said Kozak.
Granma said Zarif would end his visit to the region by attending the inauguration of Bolivia s president-elect Luis Arce on Sunday.
