Tehran slams US law on Iran sway in LatAm as ‘meddlesome’

Iran has criticized the United States for the enactment of a ‘meddlesome’ law to counter the Islamic Republic’s growing influence in Latin America.

“The Americans are still living in the Cold War era and imagine that Latin America is [still] their backyard, and intend to impose and dictate their own policies on independent countries,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said on Tuesday.

He noted that the US officials’ blatant interference in such affairs indicates their lack of knowledge of the new world order.

On December 28, 2012, the US President Barack Obama signed off on the “Countering Iran in the Western Hemisphere Act” which US lawmakers had adopted earlier in the year.

The act calls for the US State Department to work out a strategy within six months to “address Iran’s growing hostile presence and activity” in Latin America.

Since 2005, Iran has opened six new embassies in Latin America. It has now 11 embassies and 17 cultural centers in that region.

“Iran’s relations with all countries, particularly in Latin America, are friendly and based on mutual respect and interests, and these relations will result in more welfare and development [of both sides],” Mehmanparast said.

“I recommend the US officials to respect the sovereignty of states instead of opting for meddlesome methods, and brace for joint global management for resolving global crises which have been created by US politicians in the social and economic arenas,” he added.

“Public opinion no longer accepts meddlesome actions and Latin American countries regulate and pursue their foreign relations based on their own interests,” noted the Iranian official.