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TERRORISM
2001 Tour
Agence France Presse
May 10, 2001, Thursday
TEHRAN, May 10
A three-day landmark visit to Iran by Cuba's revolutionary leader Fidel
Castro ended Thursday with both sides determined to bolster ties in the
face of US-imposed unilateral embargoes. The 74-year-old Cuban
president, making his first-ever trip to the Islamic republic, was
received with the greatest of honours by top Iranian officials for
high-level talks aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation. Just
hours after the red-carpet welcoming ceremony in the former imperial
Saad-Abad palace in northern Tehran, Castro said he felt "at home," in
Tehran "among the revolutionary people of Iran." Before leaving the
Iranian capital Thursday, Castro and his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad
Khatami, affirmed during a press conference that the trip had been "very
constructive."
In a final statement, both nations "vowed to continue with their efforts
for the establishment of a fair economic regime in which third-world
countries are permitted to take steps towards attaining affluence and
social and economic development. "Iran and Cuba consider the imposing of
economic pressures as well as sanctions against independent countries to
be against human rights, and (we) condemn measures by certain nations
which aim at imposing their power (on other countries."
During Castro's meeting with Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei on Wednesday, Khamenei proposed an "Irano-Cuban cooperation"
against the United States.
Referring to "US hegemony," Khamenei said Tehran considers the "American
regime as an arrogant power, seeking a unipolar world, to which we
seriously object.
"The United States is weak and extremely vulnerable today," Khamenei
stressed, adding that "US grandeur can be broken, and if this takes
place, it will be a service rendered to mankind and even the American
people.
"Our resistance against US hegemony is based on our Islamic beliefs,
since in Islam, resistance against injustice is considered a value."
Castro for his part said Havana is not "afraid of America, and the Cuban
nation, 40 years after its revolution, is now stronger then ever.
"Iran and Cuba, in cooperation with each other, can bring America to
its knees. The US regime is very weak, and we are witnessing this
weakness from close up," Castro affirmed.
During his trip, the Cuban leader also held meetings with Iran's Foreign
Minister Kamal Kharazi, parliament speaker Mehdi Karubi, as well as
former president Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani.
He also received an honourary doctorate from a Tehran university for his
"contributions to justice, humanist ideals and the fight against
discrimination."
Castro told journalists before leaving Tehran that he was "totally
reassured about Iran. There is great hope for the future of relations
between Cuba and Iran. I am leaving with many unforgettable memories."
Iran and Cuba, both under a unilateral embargo by Washington, have had
close relations since the 1980s, notably in the medical and farming
sectors.
But the two nations, which have been branded terrorist states by
Washington, have weak trade links running under 20 million dollars a
year.
The Cuban president headed for Malaysia, and is due to visit Qatar on
his return journey to Havana.
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