Iran, Venezuela bash US, seek stronger ties
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Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez have slammed arch-foe the United States and pledged to boost trade ties.
Mr Chavez arrived in Tehran on Saturday for a two-day visit on the last leg of a tour of nations at loggerheads with Washington, which has already taken him to Russia and Belarus.
"The United States is incapable of hurting Iran and Venezuela ... cooperation between the two independent states is natural and it must be expanded," state television quoted Ayatollah Khamenei as telling Mr Chavez.
"America's greatness has deteriorated and it faces many problems, independent countries should consider this and expand their cooperation."
"The election of anti-American governments in the (Latin American) region shows that US imperialism is weakening," Mr Chavez said.
"Numerous oil and gas contracts between Iran and Venezuela show the two countries are serious in developing ties," he said, describing Iran as a "good model for other countries."
Hardline Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called for stronger ties with Latin America in talks with his "ideological brother" Mr Chavez.
Aside from their anti-US stance, the two countries enjoy warm ties and cooperation in the energy sector, with Iran OPEC's second largest crude producer and Venezuela also a major player in the cartel.
Mr Chavez, who is accompanied by his foreign, communications, energy, industry and economy ministers, is expected to sign 20 agreements including the construction of 7,000 houses, a petrochemical plant and a vocational training centre in Venezuela.
Mr Chavez is the most vocal cheerleader in Latin America for Iran and its nuclear program, which is feared by the West to be a cover for weapons development although Tehran insists it is purely peaceful.
His trip comes as Iran is being threatened with toughened UN Security Council sanctions for its continued refusal to freeze uranium enrichment, a process which makes nuclear fuel but can also be the core of an atomic bomb.
Earlier this month, Iran welcomed Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, a Cold War foe of the United States. Tehran has also boosted ties with other countries which have frosty ties with Washington, notably Belarus, whose president has been condemned by the European Union for rights violations.
Bolivian President Evo Morales is also expected to visit Tehran in the coming months.
-AFP
Topics: world-politics, oil-and-gas, iran-islamic-republic-of, venezuela
Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez met Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.  They pledged further cooperation of "independent nations."

The visit of Chavez to Tehran, Iran, followed earlier ones to Russia and Belarus. Iran's state-run television reported that Hugo Chavez stated to Khamenei that Iran was an apt model for other nations to emulate.

Chavez said that the two nations' ties in the petroleum, gasoline, and petrochemical sectors will be expanded.  

In a reference to the recent political development in various parts of Latin America where anti-American leaders have attained political control, Chavez said, "U.S. imperialism is declining, and independent countries are viewing the future with hope and optimism."

Both Venezuela and Iran are members of OPEC.  

Last month, Daniel Ortega, the president of Nicaragua, came to Iran. In the following months, Evo Morales, the president of Bolivia, is expected in Tehran.