Reuters
May 09, 2001 02:07 PM ET
By Ali Raiss-Tousi
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Cuban President Fidel Castro urged Iran Wednesday to help defeat the United States "as you toppled the shah" in 1979.
Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a staunch opponent of the United States, immediately welcomed the offer, saying the United States is "vulnerable and easy to break down."
Referring to the late Iranian monarch who was backed by the United States, Castro said earlier: "You overthrew the shah 22 years ago, but there is another shah one thousand times stronger and better armed.
"This (new) shah is imperialism, and its main stronghold is only miles away from our border," he said in a speech to students and faculty members at Tehran University.
The United States "has military bases and aircraft carriers everywhere and its nuclear warheads are aimed in every direction," Castro added. "But it can be toppled, just like your Shah was overthrown."
His long speech was interspersed with humorous remarks, which drew applause from more than 700 people packed into a lecture hall, and many more standing outside watching him on closed-circuit television.
Khamenei told Castro that Iran strongly backed Cuba's anti-U.S. stance, state television reported.
"Iran likes Cuba because it has withstood U.S. bullying. This is very precious from Islam's standpoint," the Iranian leader said. "America is very vulnerable and can be easily broken down. Iran and Cuba can work together to achieve this."
Moderate President Mohammad Khatami, whose powers are dwarfed by those of Khamenei, was present at the talks, but did not make any comments.
Castro arrived Monday for a three-day visit as part of a tour of three developing nations.
Despite major differences between the theocratic Islamic republic and communist Cuba, the two countries have one thing in common -- the enmity of the United States.
Both under U.S. economic sanctions and political pressure, Tehran and Havana advocate a campaign to thwart what they call U.S. "global domination."
Castro said Tuesday he wanted to build political ties with Iran, which he hailed as a pioneer for independence and security.
Sugar-exporting Cuba and oil-rich Iran have also expressed interest in broadening trade away from traditional exports into new products such as pharmaceuticals and industrial goods.
Castro received an honorary doctorate from an Iranian university Wednesday.
Unbelieveable how this is glossed over or given a pass by our Congress. They think if they get into Cuba their constituents will make money (BS- no other country has, in fact their stuck with IOUs) or more likely, that by recognizing Castro, it will help prop up communism.