Iran Venezuela: Strategic Ties

Hugo Chavez Venezuelan president has ended a two day visit in Iran  ,the two countries has signed eleven contracts in cooperation in Energy ,oil ,textile  industry and mass house making as IRNA says .

The two presidents called their unity as a “new world order “.

In this special situation which Iran is confronting UN sanctions, what makes Venezuela to support Iran?

The relations of two countries go beck to nearly fifty years ago in OPEC.

Despite the far distance between two countries,  Iran is located in Middle East and Venezuela is in the northern part of South America, Venezuela is very supportive.

After Islamic revolution in 1979 lots of economic sanctions imposed to Iran and consequently the Iranian government decided to diversify of its trade partners and as a result Iran concentrated on Latin American countries based on their economical capacities and foreign policies.

To find  the importance of Venezuela  to Iran ,the first issue which comes to mind is oil ,Venezuela has the largest oil reserve outside of Middle East and can be a good partner for Iran.

The reactions of Israel and United States  are another issue , in their views Iran has influence in Latin America which has been  considered as a backyard for US but it seems as if everything is changing ,for example Hugo Chavez says : we both are stand  against  the united states imperialism .

The third issue is economic relations, in this issue some countries like Bolivia, Venezuela, Nicaragua and equator have reached to high economic relation with Iran.

The Iran – Venezuela relations have been consolidated in Ahmadinejad’s presidency, first direct flight from Tehran to Caracas, two automotive automobile factories which can make 24 thousands in a year, the dairy production factories and other small industries are some examples of their relations.

Iran and Venezuela are going to reach to 20 billion dollars in common trades.

Hugo Chavez has defended Iran’s nuclear program by insisting it is for peaceful uses.

Four rounds of UN sanctions and the US and European broader embargoes couldn’t stop Iran’s nuclear program.

Chaves has also plan to develop nuclear energy program in Venezuela and because of that has signed an agreement with Russia last week.

Chavez had nine trip to Iran, before coming to Tehran, he had visited Ukraine, Belarus and Russia.

It seems a new definition of  international relations

is coming out and we have to look forward to future.

Ahmadinejad in Lebanon

President Mahmood Ahmadinejad is now in his first state visit in Lebanon . Lots of Lebanese  gathered in a 6 km way from Beirut airport to  lebanon presidential palace or Baabda .

Ahmadinejad in the third day of his trip is going to visit  Bint jbeil   which was  among the hardest-hit areas during the 2006 Israeli-Hezbollah war .

This trip is concerned important in some aspects ; the two countries relations are traced back to many years ago in  Pahlavi's dynasty.

They are not neighbors but there is s strong solidarity based on religion and beliefs between them.

The importance of Imam Musa Sadr's  role in Lebanon  in making connection  between followers of Islam and Christianity is undeniable.

Lebanon is an unusual country; the majority of people are Muslims but the president is selected from Christians.

Apostles of various religions ,cults and ethnical groups live with each other peacefully .

the assassination of Rafic Al Hariri  - the former Lebanon prime minister - was a turning point ,it means everything has changed in Lebanon political arena ; the investigation into his assassination is still ongoing by The Special Tribunal  for Lebanon which is an international criminal court .

the tribunal convicted Lebanese and Syrian officers and also Hezbollah in Rafic Al Hariri's killing , bur Syria and Hezbollah condemned what has alleged by the court.

Within a couple month before a crucial event has happened in Lebanon; for the first time King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and Bashar Al Assad - the president of Syria - arrived in Beirut on the same plane.

Ahmadinejad's trip has caused lots of attentions and reactions, mostly negative in the United States and some countries, the US and GB have expressed concerns about that and Ministry of Foreign Affairs warns to American citizens against travelling to Beirut in these days.

But what memorable is that contrary to expectation lots of political parties ,groups and factions welcomed to this trip ,Iran is going to invest almost 450 million dollars in Lebanon power and water industries .

The advantages of Iran's policy in Lebanon are covering all the Lebanese not just Shias and it is a very effective and profitable trade for both countries.

It shows Iran's power and influence in Middle East.

Globalization : Iran and the United States Relationship

The concept of Globalization  is traced back to sixties when a Canadian Sociologist " Marshal Mcluhan " popularized the term of global village.
Globalization explains internationalization of thoughts and communication .
the results of standardization in methods of products and marketing is Globalization ,in other word there is a great link between the territory of economy and Globalization .
A good example is Mcdonald , you can buy its food products with same qulaity in every region in the world from New York to Mumbai !
Massmedia which distribute information , audios and videos are in the direct connect with globalization.
The invention of the Morse codes was the first step in instantaneous communication , and the next steps respectively are Telephone , Satelite , Internet and so on .
This era has been named Space ,Electronic , Solar , Atom and finally a globe village.
Although globalization is a common idea in the world the role of western culture is not deniable and its role can affect every part in countries relationship.
In this issue , for example , relationship between Iran and the US is manipulating by globally decisions , however their relations is long story and had and has a lot of ups and downs since two countries had begun theire relationship in mid of 19 century.
The very important leader's meeting in WW2 was held in tehran in 1943 ,the movement of oil in iran , Coup d'état led by Americans , Iran's revolution in 1979 , Iran hostage crisis in 1979 for 444 days ,war between Iraq and Iran and lots of events show that theire common concerns cant be detached.
In 1989 the Soviet Union colappsed , thia year seems to be a turning point in the world , the US became the only superpower in the world ,the Internet became the most popular and revolution in communication has happened , infact we can see the changes which we couldnt even imagine before.
In Middle East in South and West of asia , in Dubai ,Turkey , India and especially in China all of these countries try to improve theire economiy , making facilities for investment and so on .
Iran must pay attention to its opportunities ,iran is located in the most strategic and the most important area in the world .
The connection between globalization and being an economic power is very complicated , for example World Trade Organization ( WTO ) ,which has been formed since 1995 , tries to establish a unified system in global trade ,Iran's request for membership in WTO have been rejected by the US and WTO have just accepted iran as an observer , it means that iran should act in the world based on it's national interests , if we don't avail ourselves of this opportunity the others will definitely take it.
References :
Globalizations  : Concepts and Theories by Dr Ameli
Cultural Studies   Chris Barker
Key Concepts of cultural Theory   Andrew Edgar
wto.org