Peloni: The Mullahs in Tehran are a threat to the Western world. The resolve to ignore this fact has seen their proxies extending across the world and most notably across South and Central America.
Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger, “Second Thought: a US-Israel Initiative” | January 15, 2025
Will the Monroe Doctrine be revitalized in the face of the growing military, economic and diplomatic entrenchment of Iran’s Ayatollahs throughout Latin America?! The Ayatollahs aim to undermine the strategic posture of the US in its own “soft underbelly,” and bring “The Great American Satan” to submission. Against this alarming background, can the US afford to persist in its diplomatic option toward Iran, or revert to President Trump’s maximum pressure economic sanctions, which were proven reversible, while refraining from the irreversible regime-change?!
*”After more than four decades of systematic penetration of Latin America, Iran is reaching its full geopolitical potential in the Western Hemisphere, prepositioning military assets and armaments in the region. Tehran’s goal is to bring the fight to the United States…. Venezuela’s Armed Forces is the first Latin American military to have armed drones in its inventory, courtesy of Iran. In 2021, Venezuela began receiving shipments of Iran-made precision-guided short-range missiles that will likely be used to arm the drones….”
*The Warsaw, Poland-based Defense Industry Europe reports that “Iran’s supply of military systems to Venezuela creates grave concerns in South America. Iranian-made Zolfaghar-class missile boats (a modified version of the North Korean IPS-16) armed with Nasr-1 anti-ship missiles were observed during a July 24, 2023 naval parade in Venezuela [Do the Ayatollahs intend to export the Houthi piracy in the Red Sea to the Caribbean Sea and the Venezuela-Guyana territorial conflict?]. The Iranian defense industry is using straw companies to obtain dual-use components used in their locally manufactured military systems…. Iran is using Venezuela as its front base in South America, intending to target American interests….”
*The Riyadh-based Journal for Iranian Studies indicates that “Iran’s significant and growing presence in Latin America, [is noticed] among governments with adversarial relationships with the United States. [There is] a progression of Iran-Latin American cooperation from diplomatic, cultural and commercial ties to the signing of military agreements and the export of Iranian military technology, notably drones…. to Latin America, which represents a critical region for US national interests and security…. A drone production factory was established [in Venezuela] over a decade ago during Hugo Chavez’s tenure…. These commercial and military agreements help Iran circumvent international sanctions and the 2007 UN arms embargo, providing a venue for Iranian companies affiliated with the [US State Department terror-designated] Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to establish a presence beyond Iranian borders, notwithstanding the sanctions…. Bolivian Defense Minister, Edmundo Novillo, disclosed that the [Iran-Bolivia] agreement entailed provisions for acquiring drones and boats aimed at monitoring regional borders…. [He] underscored Bolivia’s need for maintenance services for its aircraft and helicopters [paid for by lithium], acknowledging the technical expertise offered by Iran in this regard….”
*According to the NYC-based The Latin Times, “Iran is increasing its military presence in Venezuela…., establishing a [predator] drone development base at the El Libertador Air Base, where training is carried out for Venezuelan military personnel…. Iran’s Mahan Air, makes direct flights between Caracas and Tehran, violating international sanctions by transporting Venezuelan gold in exchange for Iranian oil….”
*Iran’s Ayatollahs have expanded their Latin American footprint toward the Caribbean Sea in collaboration with Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro, militarily, economically and diplomatically, supporting Maduro’s territorial claim in Guyana (in defiance of an 1899 US-led arbitration agreement), which Maduro considers as a US proxy. In fact, the accelerated US-Guyana military cooperation, has been in response to Venezuela’s growing military presence along the border with Guyana, which includes Iranian assistance with the construction of an airstrip and training ground next to the Guyana border.
*Iranian (as well as Russian and Chinese) support has bolstered Maduro’s military threat to occupy Guyana’s Essequibo region, which is the size of Florida (2/3 of Guyana’s area). Essequibo’s territorial waters have a bearing on the access from the Caribbean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean, and the illicit maritime trade conducted there with the involvement of Iran’s Ayatollahs and Hezbollah.
*Essequibo is rich in off-shore oil and natural gas deposits (mostly discovered in the mid-2010s), gold, bauxite, diamonds and additional natural resources. As reported by a 2023 report of the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, significant ExxonMobile’s oil discoveries are projected to make Guyana the world’s 4th largest offshore oil producer by 2035, surpassing countries like the US, Mexico and Norway. In addition, Guyana’s oil has a major competitive advantage in the hydrocarbon market, with most of its oil resources being light crude with lower-than-average carbon emissions and low extraction cost.
* 46 years of the self-destructive US diplomatic option toward Iran’s Ayatollahs, and 40 years of reversible economic sanctions against Iran, including President Trump’s maximum pressure crippling sanctions, have failed to moderate Iran’s Ayatollahs. This failure has demonstrated that the only way to end the Ayatollahs’ rogue conduct, and thus minimizing the level of wars and terrorism, is through an irreversible regime-change.
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