Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad defended his country's nuclear program Thursday, criticizing the United States for imposing sanctions. "The nuclear question is a political excuse. They know that Iran is not looking to make atomic bombs. Iran is not as imprudent as they are," Ahmadinejad said. "We do not believe in making atomic bombs. We believe that goes against human morality." Speaking to reporters in Quito, Ecuador, after a day of meetings with the South...

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in Cuba Wednesday for a brief visit that is the third stop in his Latin American tour. Ahmadinejad was to meet with Cuban President Raul Castro later Wednesday, after lecturing at the University of Havana. Cuban diplomatic sources in Havana said that Ahmadinejad also has plans to meet with historic Cuban leader Fidel Castro. As he arrived in the communist island in the Caribbeann, Ahmadinejad lifted two fingers in a sign of victory. He was coming...

Speaking in a ceremony where he was sworn in for a second consecutive term in office, Ortega attacked the U.S. "occupation" of Afghanistan and Iraq, condemned the killing of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and offered a brief valediction to Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. Ortega - flanked by his close ally, Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez - defended Iran's stated intention to develop atomic energy for peaceful ends, an explanation Western powers say is a cover for a nuclear...

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in Nicaragua on Tuesday, the second stop of his five-day tour of Latin America. There, he will attend the inauguration of President Daniel Ortega, who cruised to a third term in November amid allegations of vote irregularities. Shortly after his arrival, Ahmadinejad praised the Nicaraguan president as a "revolutionary leader" and said he was grateful to return to the Central American nation. "Among all of you, we are at home,...

CARACAS, Venezuela - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Venezuela's Hugo Chavez lavished praise on each other on Monday, mocked U.S. disapproval and joked about having an atomic bomb at their disposal. The fiery anti-U.S. ideologues have forged increasingly close ties between their fellow OPEC nations in recent years, although concrete projects have often lagged behind the rhetoric. Both leaders dismissed U.S. concerns about Iran's intentions in the Middle East and its growing...

Caracas, Venezuela (CNN) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez pledged closer cooperation on Monday, vowing to fight poverty and imperialism. The two leaders signed a series of accords in the areas of industry, science, technology and politics, the state-run AVN news agency reported. Sitting side by side in front of a room full of reporters, they presented a united front in their opposition to the United States. "It's clear they are afraid of our...

“During the tour that begins the second week of January, president Ahmadinejad will first visit Caracas to meet with President Hugo Chavez and later to Nicaragua for the taking office ceremony of President Daniel Ortega, who was recently re-elected for a second term”, said Mohamad Reza Forghani, foreign affairs director from the presidential office. In Cuba and Ecuador the Iranian president will holds talks with the leaders of both countries, adds the report. Iran in recent years...

Porfirio Lobo Sosa President of the Republic of Honduras Tegucigalpa, Honduras Dear President Lobo: The Committee to Protect Journalists is writing to express its deep concern about the unrelenting violence against the Honduran press. Our letter to you is prompted by events earlier this month that once again highlight the extraordinary risks that Honduran journalists must take simply to do their jobs. Since the 2009 ouster of President Manuel Zelaya, many journalists have continuously...

Univision, the largest TV broadcaster in Spanish of the United States, recently presented a report showing that Iran is actively preparing an attack against the US to be carried out from bases in Latin America. The documentary, "La Amenaza Irani" (" "), illustrated, though undercover footage, how the growing economic, political and military ties Iran has developed in South American countries are rapidly evolving into a tangible threat for the security of the US. The...

Reporters Without Borders condemns the violence used by police and soldiers to disperse yesterday’s demonstration by journalists - mostly women - outside the presidential palace in Tegucigalpa to demand justice for the 24 journalists killed since 2003, 17 of them since the June 2009 coup d’état. The latest journalist to be murdered, last week, was a woman. “The Honduran government’s only response to the dire human rights and civil liberties situation is...