Latin America:

Castro Invites Iranian President To Cuba
08 February 2006

IRANMANIA (LONDON) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (Pictured: Right) accepted an invitation to visit Cuba from Cuban President Fidel Castro (Pictured: Left) in appreciation of Cuba's public support for Iran's controversial nuclear program. On Saturday, February 4, 2006, Cuba, along with Venezuela and Syria, voted against the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) resolution referring Iran to the United Nations (UN) Security Council. The vote ended in a 27-3 decision in favor of reporting Iran the the UN Security Council. During his visit to Cuba, Ahmadinejad will attend the September 11-16, 2006, Non-Aligned Summit in Havana, Cuba.

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Comment: Cuba, Iran and political ally Venezuela are all part of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), an international organization of 114 countries not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. NAM nations represent nearly two-thirds of UN membership.