Strategic Expert: Gulf States Capable to Halt Iranian Expansion in South America

London- U.S. advisor and expert on foreign affairs Marco Vicenzino told Asharq Al-Awsat in an interview published Sunday that Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states were the only entity capable to face Iran in South America.

“If GCC states strengthen their relations with south American states such as Argentine, Brazil, Columbia, Chili and Mexico, they would definitely undermine the Iranian capacities, particularly that the policies of these Latin states bow more to the policies of GCC states rather than Iran,” the expert said.

The comments of Vicenzino coincides with the scheduled visit of Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to several South American states, including Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Cuba and Chili.

Vicenzino said there was nothing new in Iran’s relationship with these states, because Iran had a relation with Latin American states during the phase of sanctions.

“I would like to stress on the fact that some of these states are already indebted to the Iranian regime,” he said.

Vicenzino said the aim of Zarif’s visit was mainly to break the ice of Iran’s diplomatic relations with these states and to build a cooperation at the level of weapons, training and Iranian technology.

The expert added: “If we look at the visit of Zarif, we find that it targets the leftists and poorest Latin states that suffer from political crisis and might witness a change of regime.”

Vicenzino, who is the founder and director of the Global Strategy Project said Ecuador, as an example, might witness a tremendous change in its policy during 2017 due to the upcoming presidential elections and there are big chances for opposition candidate Alvaro Noboa to win over current president Rafael Correa who is the ally of the Iranian regime.

Vicenzino said that Zarif’s visit does not include South American states that play an important economic weight in the continent, such as Brazil, Columbia, Argentine and Mexico.

The expert said Iran’s presence in Latin American states was limited and faces several challenges.

“The Iranian regime lost Argentine following the departure of President Cristina Kirchner and it also lost its alliance with Brazil following the departure of former president Lula Da Silva, which means that Iranian alliances with South America states would not be solid and that states such as Egypt or the GCC might be able to easily shake them,” the strategic expert said.

Vicenzino also said that GCC states have a strong relationship with the U.S. and that Washington has no problem to see Gulf States build a solid presence in Latin America.

Commenting on Iran’s attempts to spread Shi’ism in South America, Vicenzino said: “There are proofs that Iran was involved in supporting the Iranian so-called Hezbollah militias in states such as Venezuela and the region between Paraguay and Argentine. Iran surely tries through these groups, particularly the Lebanese Shi’ites, to support smuggling operations and money laundering with terrorist groups.”

He added that Iran’s relationship with Latin American states goes in one direction: upset the United States and face capitalism, the reason why the Iranian foreign minister is now visiting leftist states. “But, I repeat that the regimes of the Latin American states might change to a point where they might soon abandon their relations with Iran,” Vicenzino said.

Strategic Expert: Gulf States Capable to Halt Iranian Expansion in South America