Exclusive - Cuba, Iran brought together through revolutionary identity
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A Cuban political analyst tells Al Mayadeen that relations and interests between the two nations grew decades ago despite the large geographical distance that separates them.
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Cuban political analyst Leonel Nodal
Cuba receives Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi with great joy as it celebrates the birth anniversary of the revolutionary Che Guevara, Cuban political analyst Leonel Nodal said in an interview for Al Mayadeen.
Nodal hailed Raisi's visit that "holds many meanings," considering that what distinguishes it is the "cooperation and solidarity" between the two countries.
He pointed out that the basis of the common interests between Cuba and Iran began to take shape in the middle of the last century, despite the large geographical distance separating the two countries.
The Cuban political expert confirmed that "Iran, over there in the Middle East, and Cuba, here in the middle of the Caribbean Sea, are two strategic countries, and they have always been so since the victory of their revolutions."
"This moment is very exciting for relations and geopolitics in America and the world. Despite all the difficulties we face in Cuba, Iran, and progressive countries, new relations are being developed and strengthened between China, Russia, Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Latin America in general," he continued.
"Today, specifically on Che's birth anniversary, we seek to consolidate, resuscitate, and empower liberation movements and democratic and popular processes," Nodal stressed, adding that Guevara's "dream came true" with the visit of the Iranian president, which comes in the context of "merely aspiring for a better world that is developing."
"We want there to be more of it," he said.
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Nodal considered that Iran's accession to the BRICS group and Cuba's recent participation in the preparatory ministerial meeting for the next [BRICS] summit "indicate a very positive path in favor of resolving many of the difficulties we face."
Iran suffered from American interference and plots from the CIA, he confirmed to Al Mayadeen, pointing out that the United States "overthrew a popular government in Iran (referring to the government of President Mohammad Mossadegh, which was the first elected government in Iran), due to the Islamic Republic's enormous oil wealth and other energy resources."
The US wanted "to replace the elected government with a dictatorial government led by Reza Pahlavi, through a terrifying dictatorship regime that plundered the country's wealth."
Read more: Latin American nations cooperation nullify US sanctions effect: Raisi
Pointing out similarities of the American direct intervention in both Iran and Cuba within the same period in the 1950s, Nodal recalled the coup led by the US-backed Cuban former President Fulgencio Batista "and all the disasters that his dictatorship brought along and the subsequent deaths, killings, and persecutions."
"The anti-imperialist identity has grown stronger among the Cuban people, leading to the rush of armed struggle and the victory of the revolution."
Nodal explained that the revolution that broke out in Iran against Pahlavi, 20 years after a similar revolution in Cuba that overthrew Batista and expelled him, "was the first direct anti-imperialist operation against the intervention and presence of the United States in Iran."
According to Nodal, "A path in which identities and [armed] operations aligned in the context of the relations between the two countries [Iran-Cuba] began since then."
Nodal recalled that after the victory of the Iranian revolution in July 1979, led By Imam Khomeini, Cuba was "in the process of assuming the presidency of the Non-Aligned Movement, and the summit was taking place in Havana in September, so Cuba immediately invited the new authorities" in Iran.
Nodal explained to Al Mayadeen that "this matter brought us closer immediately," pointing to the occurrence of "direct contacts later between the new authorities in Iran and Cuba, and that the Iranians began to get acquainted with the Cuban revolution and its principles closely and to everything that was happening in Latin America."
According to the political analyst, the senior leaders of the state in Iran were already present in Cuba in recent years, and relations continued without interruption despite all the conflicts that were taking place in the Middle East and what Iran and other countries in the region were facing.
This comes as Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi saluted the people of Venezuela and the peoples of Latin America, who were able to achieve their independence through their struggle, thanks to the spirit of the peoples of this region and the way they sought their independence and sovereignty, as he put it.
During an interview for the Caracas-based TeleSUR news outlet, the Iranian President hailed the region's nations that sought their independence and sovereignty despite all the threats and pressure.
"Washington used to consider Latin America as its backyard," Raisi said, adding that this has changed now thanks to the spirit of the people.
It is worth noting that earlier today, the Iranian President arrived in Cuba, the final stop of a trip he started earlier this week to three Latin American countries, including Venezuela and Nicaragua.
