Iran forging alliances against the U.S.

After boosting its relations with Arab countries like Syria and Iraq, and with groups like Hezbollah and Hamas, Iran is currently seeking political and economic cooperation with a number of other states - like Venezuela, Sudan and Cuba - as part of a series of calculated foreign policy moves aimed at exacerbating an already tense stand-off with the Bush administration over its nuclear program, according to an article on The Guardian.

"Iran wants to bolster its position by allying itself with countries or groups that can temporarily enhance its regional role and influence," says Sami Moubayed, a Syrian political analyst.

High-level meetings have been held in recent weeks with several Arab and Muslim states. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Hamid-Reza Asfi, recently said that Tehran has intensified its "diplomatic activity to explain the situation to other countries."

Last week, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attended an Asian security summit in Shanghai, where he met with Chinese President Hu Jintao and Russian President Vladimir Putin amid a critical time in the standoff over Tehran's nuclear program, with the Islamic Republic considering new package of incentives offered last week by the UN's five permanent members plus Germany in exchange for it suspending uranium enrichment.

Moscow and Beijing support the incentive package. But the two permanent UN members - also old allies and trading partners of Iran - oppose the threat of military action or imposition of sanctions against Tehran, options Washington could seek if Iran refused the offer. 

Tehran is also shoring up old alliances. Earlier this month, it signed an agreement with close ally Syria to expand military cooperation against what they called the "common threats" posed by Israel and the U.S. "Iran and Syria can be good role models for all Muslim countries," said Iran's Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar said after announcing the defense pact. "Both countries believe there is no need for foreign troops in the region." 

And there's an economic dimension too. In February, Iran and Syria signed a series of economic and trade deals including one establishing gas, oil, railroad, and electrical links between Syria and Iran via Iraq. Moreover, both states are looking to the emerging economic powerhouses of Asia to build new trade ties as an alternative to Europe and the West.

Iran and Cuba also continue to cement a long-standing alliance, which includes economic and biotechnological exchanges, as well as other efforts to strategically impact their mutual adversary, the United States. "Cuba and Iran have now entered a new stage in a bilateral relationship increasingly characterized by integrated political, economic, and technological policies and a coordinated global strategy vis-à-vis the United States," according to political analyst Hans de Salas-del Valle. 

Analysts say that Tehran's cooperation and investment in Venezuela, a key oil supplier to the U.S. led by President Hugo Chavez, a foe of Bush and friend of Cuban President Fidel Castro, may be viewed as a bridge too far in Washington, which views both countries as "rogue" states.

"Our relationship with Venezuela has improved a lot," Asefi said. "We have good cooperation in construction, oil and gas, and in infrastructure projects. Our people are busy there making houses, roads, dams and in transport."

Tehran and Caracas are major oil producers and members of OPEC. Iranian officials have estimated that the actual and planned investment in Venezuela could ultimately reach billion. The two countries had recently finalized an agreement to build a giant car plant in Venezuela, with Iran having 51% stake in the project, according to Mohsen Shaterzadeh, deputy industries & mines minister. 

The head of the Iran Tractor Manufacturing Company, Mohsen Khadem Arab-Baghi, recently said that the company plans to manufacture more than 30,000 tractors by March 2007. Though its products are exported to 30 countries, "our greatest target market is Venezuela, which accounts for m of our tractor exports," Baghi said.

The United States imposed trade sanctions on Venezuela two months ago, including a ban on the sale of spare parts for F-111 fighter jets. In response, Caracas said that it's considering selling its ageing U.S.-made F16 jets to other countries, including Iran. However, Asefi said that Tehran has "no plans" to purchase the aircraft. In another move aimed at provoking Washington, Chavez proposed collaboration on nuclear energy with Tehran. But Asefi said the two countries were cooperating on scientific research in medicine and agriculture but not in the nuclear field.

Iran's new business ventures with Sudan, which is also facing U.S. pressure over the western region of Darfur, may also pose a threat to the U.S. The relations between the two countries took a significant step forward last week when President Ahmadinejad met the Sudanese government's special envoy, General General Salah Abdullah Mohammad, and minister for international cooperation, Saleh Hudeib Al-Tijani, in Tehran.

"Tehran and Khartoum should enhance their current trade volume," Ahmadinejad said after the meetings, adding that the Iranians had "always supported Muslim and oppressed peoples in the world".

Many analysts believe that Iran's partnerships with other countries facing American pressure presents a new powerful threat to the U.S.'s Middle East plans. "My guess is that the U.S. will end up in a weaker position than it started," says Joshua Landis, professor of history at the University of Oklahoma, adding that the war on terror alienated many countries around the world who now believe that "America is the big bad ogre and specter of imperialism."