Syrian President Bashar al-Assad embarks on a landmark Latin American tour on Friday to reinforce economic ties with a continent he is visiting for the first time. Accompanied by his wife, Asma, the Syrian leader will arrive in Venezuela on Friday before proceeding to Brazil and Argentina, all three home to large communities of Syrian emigres. He will also visit Cuba to strengthen traditionally close ties. "Bilateral relations and developments in the Middle East and Latin...

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has agreed "in principle" to Brazilian mediation to revive a U.N.-brokered nuclear fuel swap deal with world powers, the semi-official Fars news agency said on Wednesday. The powers see the deal as a way to remove much of Iran's low-enriched uranium stockpile to minimize the risk of this being used for atomic bombs, while Iran would get specially processed fuel to keep its nuclear medicine program running. But the proposal broke down over...

LONDON - As the United States remains otherwise engaged in the Middle East and Afghanistan, Russia has secured a long-term security role in Latin America, becoming its largest military supplier between 2008 and 2009, data from the International Institute for Strategic Studies showed. It happened while the Bush and Obama administrations' attention and energies were focused on anti-terrorist operations in the Middle East and elsewhere and not so much in Central or South America. Analysts said...

BOGOTA, COLOMBIA - Ever isolated by the United States and its European allies, Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is increasingly forging ties in Latin America, and not just with fervently anti-American leaders such as Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. On Monday, Ahmadinejad met with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil, a vibrant democracy of 190 million that has the world's eighth-largest economy and warm ties with the United States. The meeting raised concerns in...

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva says Iran should negotiate with the West for a "just" solution to the country's controversial nuclear program. The Brazilian leader made his comments Monday as he welcomed Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Brasilia. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said Iran is engaging in what he called "subversive activity" in Latin America. Iran has rejected Western charges that it is using a civilian nuclear program as a...

Protests greeted Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Brazil at the start of a South American tour intended to bolster the Iranian president's legitimacy and ease his country's international isolation. Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro on the eve of Ahmadinejad's arrival to denounce his record on human rights, homosexuality and Israel. The Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, was expected to welcome the visitor with red carpet pomp in the...

Israel Aerospace Industries on Wednesday signed a $350 million contract to supply drones to Brazil police - marking the largest such deal between Israel and Brazil. The deal was signed during President Peres' official visit to Brazil, but negotiations began months ago. The deal will be implemented in several phases, the first of which will include the transfer of three unmanned planes along with accompanying equipment, including a base station, control and inspection systems. This part...

As the Iranian president is scheduled to set out on a state visit to Brazil in two weeks, Israeli President Shimon Peres has urged Brasilia to use its growing clout to curb Iran's nuclear work. "There needs to be a voice against destruction and against terror, a clear voice. I know that Brazil rejects threats, destruction, rejects terror, and the clear voice of Brazil has a strong echo in the entire world," Peres said in a speech to the Brazilian Congress on Tuesday. He...

Head of Iran-Brazil Friendship Association Mir Qassem Momeni told FNA that Ahmadinejad's visit is aimed at a discussion of bilateral and international relations. The Iranian president's first visit to the Latin American state had been scheduled to take place before the end of his first term but it was later postponed to another date. Momeni further said that during the upcoming visit to Brazil by the Iranian president, the two sides will discuss economic and cultural issues, expansion...

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has made countering Iran’s diplomatic presence in Latin America the cornerstone of his upcoming tour to the region. A statement by the Israeli Foreign Ministry said the visit was meant to “emphasize the high importance” Tel Aviv attributes to Latin America, AFP reported. Senior Israeli officials have, however, acknowledged that the trip is aimed at countering Iran’s increasing political and economic influence in the region. ...