The Iranian president on Wednesday told his Venezuelan counterpart that they would triumph over their common enemies, sending a strong message to Western countries that, according to him, are not succeeding in their campaign to isolate Iran.
At the conclusion of a two-day trip, Hugo Chavez denounced military threats made by the US and Israel against Iran, in which they have said that they may strike Tehran to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons.
The trip by Iran's key ally came one week after Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was given a warm welcome in Lebanon- the home of Shi'ite militant organization Hezbollah. Both these events were, to some extent, aimed at showing Washington that Tehran still has allies across the world who oppose US policies.
"I should use the opportunity to condemn those military threats that are being made against Iran," Chavez told a press conference during which the two presidents said they were "brothers".
"We know that they will never be able to restrict the Islamic revolution in whatever way ... We will always stand together, we will not only resist we will also stand victorious beside one another."
Iran and Venezuela have more in common than their opposition to the US; both counties are members of OPEC whose oil experts allow them to increase their diplomatic influence despite being seen with suspicion by the West.
Chavez said that they signed a number of new deals to boost industrial cooperation.
Expressing his desire to represent developing nations that feel victimized at the hands of the West, Ahmadinejad said that Iran and Venezuela are members of a revolutionary alliance that stretches from Latin America to East Asia.
