Lula says Iran ‘important partner’; Russia sanguine on military ties

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva says Tehran should continue to be an important commercial partner for Brasília in the coming years.

“For the first time, I met with Ebrahim Raeisi, the president of Iran, one of the countries that will join the BRICS as of 2024,” Lula wrote in a post published on his X (formerly known as X) page, after a summit of the bloc in Johannesburg.

“Iran was the largest importer of Brazilian products in the Middle East in 2022, having imported almost $4.3 billion worth of commodities, and should continue to be an important commercial partner for Brazil in the coming years.”

Brazil is a major trade partner for Iran. Its exports to Iran include animal feed and meat, among other products, while imports mostly cover fertilizers, including urea supplied by Iranian petrochemical companies.

Iran hopes to double its trade with Brazil within a few years to reach an annual target of $10 billion, Fakhreddin Amerian, who chairs Iran’s trade center in Brazil and heads the Iran-Brazil Joint Chamber of Commerce (IBJCC), said in early June.

Raeisi and his Brazilian counterpart met on the sidelines of the 15th meeting of the BRICS group of emerging economies in South Africa’s largest city of Johannesburg.

The Iranian president congratulated Lula on his re-election, expressing satisfaction over the enhancement of bilateral relations between Iran and Brazil.

Raeisi noted that US officials have acknowledged that Washington’s so-called campaign of “maximum pressure” against Iran has failed to achieve its goals, emphasizing that the Islamic Republic has managed to make advances in science and technology regardless of cruel sanctions.

Lula, for his part, felicitated Iran on its induction into BRICS, stressing that there exist abundant opportunities such as scientific exchanges, technology, academic expertise and cultural issues for member states to expand cooperation and relations.

The Brazilian president described sanctions as “a criminal weapon against nations,” stating that they affect the people of the targeted countries.

Lula also criticized the current structure of the United Nations, saying it is incapable of preventing the violations of other nations’ rights by certain powers.

He underscored that the present-day structures need to be redesigned, saying BRICS should be able to introduce a new economic logic and form a new order in the world.

BRICS was formed by and initially consisted of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, which collectively represent around 40% of the global population and a quarter of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP).

Iran was among dozens of countries that sought membership in BRICS and had submitted a formal application to join the body.

‘Russia’s military ties with Iran will withstand geopolitical pressure’

Meanwhile, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov says Moscow’s military cooperation with Tehran will not succumb to geopolitical pressure.

“There are no changes, and cooperation with Iran will continue,” Ryabkov said, according to a report on Saturday from Russian state news agency RIA.

He added, “We are independent states and do not succumb to the dictates of the United States and its satellites.”