Iran, Cuba must form coalition to counter US, West bullying

Ayatollah Khamenei made the remarks in a Monday meeting with Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, who is in Tehran on a historic visit. Iranian President Seyyed Ebrahim Raeisi was also present in the meeting. Ayatollah Khamenei pointed to remarkable potentialities of Iran and Cuba and said, "These capacities should be used to set up an alliance and a coalition among those countries that share the same position against the US and Western bullying." "With its focus on economic cooperation, this coalition can take a common and effective position on important international issues such as the Palestinian issue," the Leader stated. The Leader emphasized that the Palestinian issue is not limited to the recent developments in Gaza and its bombardment because the Palestinian people have been exposed to various types of torture, sufferings and massacre over the past 75 years. However, Gaza is currently faced with such a big catastrophe that cannot be concealed and revealed the realities on the ground to the world public opinion, Ayatollah Khamenei said.

The Leader added that Iran and Cuba share a stance on many international developments, particularly the Palestinian issue. Referring to Tehran-Havana cooperation in international forums, Ayatollah Khamenei stressed the importance of further promotion of mutual relations in various fields, including science. The Leader expressed hope that the two countries would implement bilateral agreements and memorandums of understanding now that the administration of President Raeisi, which he described as the "administration of work and activity”, is at the helm. Ayatollah Khamenei also pointed to his meeting with late Cuban Leader Fidel Castro in Tehran 22 years ago, and said Cuba's Revolution and Castro's personality have always been interesting to Iranian revolutionaries even before the victory of the 1979 Islamic Revolution because of honesty in his revolutionary positions. The Leader emphasized that "revolutionary sincerity", "revolutionary resilience" and "revolutionary solemnity" are the common main features of the Cuban Revolution and the Islamic Revolution in Iran. Cuba urges further cooperation with Iran in various fields Díaz-Canel, for his part, said Ayatollah Khamenei's positions and statements correspond to concerns and stance of the Cuban government. The Cuban president added that in his talks with Iranian authorities in Tehran, both sides focused all their efforts on ways to deepen mutual relations, especially in the economic and commercial spheres.

He emphasized that Iran and Cuba can complement each other in various fields, particularly in dealing with interventionist measures and sanctions imposed by the United States and its allies. Regarding cooperation on global issues, the two countries should further develop their relations and play an influential role in leading developments such as the Palestinian issue, he said. The Cuban president denounced the ongoing developments in Gaza as “unacceptable genocide” and said international organizations have turned a blind eye to the massacre of tens of thousands of civilians, most of them children and women, in the besieged Strip. He said those who were constantly complaining about the war between Ukraine and Russia and the killing of civilians are now silent vis-à-vis the massacre of tens of thousands of people in Gaza, which indicates the grave situation of the world.