Iran And Nicaragua: A Cooperation Alliance That When Looked At, Should Worry The United States
US is losing influence in its own backyard as pariah states rebel
Iran and Nicaragua have signed a comprehensive cooperation plan, the latest in a string of deals between countries not typically regarded as natural partners. In fact the main commonalities they both face is they are members of the Belt and Road Initiative, and will have met each other at BRI G2G discussion forums, and are heavily sanctioned by the United States. Both Iran and Nicaragua are also interested in joining an expanded BRICS network.
The cooperation agreement was signed by Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Nicaraguan counterpart Denis Moncada during their meeting in Tehran on Sunday (December 18).
In the meeting, the Iranian foreign minister voiced Tehran’s readiness for improving economic and trade relations with Managua to the highest level. Amir-Abdollahian said the bilateral political relations of the two countries were “excellent,” stressing that the expansion of economic and trade ties is among the two countries’ top priorities and should be given more attention.
He said the two countries’ comprehensive cooperation plan is a new and strategic roadmap for developing bilateral relations.
At the same time, the Nicaraguan foreign minister said he hoped that the signing of the comprehensive cooperation plan and the upcoming first meeting of the joint economic commission would further strengthen bilateral relations.
During a meeting with Moncada later in the day, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said stronger cooperation between the two countries will “neutralize” the pressure from the United States and its Western allies, according to a statement from the Iranian president’s office.
The Iranian president accused the United States and the West of using certain tools, such as human rights, to exert pressure on “independent and resistant” countries. According to Raisi, both Iran and Nicaragua have strong capacities that give them a solid foundation for advancing their relations.
Pointing to the good relations as well as positive and constructive cooperation between Iran and Nicaragua in international institutions and organizations, the Iranian president said resistance against hostilities and the pressures of global arrogance — a term Iranian authorities use to refer to the United States and its allies — is one of the factors that strengthened their bilateral relations and cooperation.
Both Iran and Nicaragua have been under U.S. unilateral sanctions. The sanctions on Iran intensified in 2018 after former U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of a 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers.
In 1985, then-U.S. President Ronald Reagan imposed sanctions against Nicaragua, prohibiting all trade between the United States and Nicaragua.
In turn, what had been intended to create sovereign nations as global pariahs has instead motivated them to seek new alliances – an expanded BRICS, with another 13 countries apart from Iran and Nicaragua set to join Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa would create a bloc representing a collective entity with a GDP 30% larger than the United States, over 50% of the global population and in control of 60% of global gas reserves.
Underlining this is that both Iran and Nicaragua share the same industry space, with both being prominent energy nations. Iran has the world’s fourth largest oil reserves and the second largest natural gas reserves in the world, while Nicaragua is second only to Costa Rica in the LatAm region in its share – 21% – of renewable, non-hydraulic energy. This is because the country has one of the world’s highest natural abundance of renewable resources. Nicaragua experiences powerful winds and large amounts of sunlight on a regular basis. The country is also home to 19 volcanoes—a reliable source of geothermic heat. The coming together of Iran and Nicaragua therefore means the development of old (hydrocarbon) and new (renewables) energy experiences – an important asset in managing the capabilities of future energy needs.
Iran and Nicaragua have increased cooperation agreements in the energy and agriculture sectors, as well as food exports, medicines, and educational exchanges with universities.
“Iran’s idea is to enter the United States [through LatAm), with the help of Cuba and Venezuela” Fabián Calle, political analyst and professor of International Relations at Argentina’s Austral University, has said. “The strategy is to present itself diplomatically at the political and economic level, to upset the regional influence of the United States, for example, by becoming involved in Nicaragua’s internal politics.”
Managua and Tehran have also signed an agreement for beef exports, one of Nicaragua’s main export products.
The message these apparently unusual pairing of countries is delivering is simple: sanctioning countries in the manner in which the United States has done, over time, diminishes the latent power the US holds over global trade and has actively encouraged dissent – to the extent that those resenting this are getting close to being larger in number, trade volumes, GDP, growth, and population than that of the United States and Western blocs.
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