Nicaraguan Foreign Minister Denis Moncada and his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, signed the first cooperation and political consultation agreement of the year on Thursday, the Managua government reported in a press release.
Amir-Abdollahian arrived in Nicaragua on Thursday as part of a planned tour of Latin America and was received by Moncada and three sons of President Daniel Ortega.
Moncada stressed that this is the first agreement signed between the two countries this year. In 2022 Nicaragua and Iran signed at least 14 agreements.
With the signing of the agreement, both countries adopted “a mechanism for coordination and regular consultations, including work meetings on issues of mutual interest and support in the international arena,” Moncada stressed.
The Iranian foreign minister referred to Washington’s measures as “a tool of imperialism’s terrorism” that “attacks independent and sovereign countries.”
The Nicaraguan opponent and ex-guerrilla Luis Fley told the VOA that Managua’s relationship with Iran puts the Central American country in a position of future conflicts with Washington “that are not healthy.”
Both Managua and Tehran have been sanctioned by the US for human rights violations.
In September 2022, the Treasury Department extended sanctions on Iran’s morality police and heads of other government agencies over the death of a woman who was detained for failing to cover her hair with a headscarf, sparking protests that were suppressed by the Iranian government.
In Nicaragua, Washington has sanctioned more than 22 officials close to President Ortega for repressing dissent and imprisoning opponents critical of the president, who has been in power for more than 15 consecutive years.
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