Ayatollah Khamenei the Leader of the Islamic Revolution met this afternoon with Hugo Chavez the President of Venezuela and his accompanying delegation. In the meeting, Ayatollah Khamenei appreciated the brave and fair stance of the Venezuelan President and his love for the people of Venezuela.
Addressing the Venezuelan President, Ayatollah Khamenei said: "Your administration opened a new chapter in the history of Latin American and the bravery of you and the Venezuelan people has inspired confidence in the people of this region."
His Eminence also appreciated the decision by the government of Venezuela to break off diplomatic relations with the Zionist regime and also the brave stance adopted by the President of Venezuela on the war in Gaza and said: "In fact, it was the European governments claiming to support human rights who had to take such measures. Unfortunately though, they took the opposite stance during the killings of the people of Gaza."
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution referred to the US government as an accomplice of the Zionist regime during the tragedies which took place in Gaza. He further referred to the angry opposition of the arrogant powers to the stance taken by the government of Venezuela on the war in Gaza and said that such angry opposition is indicative of the influential role of the Islamic Republic and the Venezuelan government.
Ayatollah Khamenei also referred to the continuous propaganda broadcast against Iran's nuclear energy plan and said: "The arrogant powers' opposition is again indicative of the fact that the achievement made by the Islamic Republic in developing nuclear technology is an important step towards strengthening the righteous front in the world."
His Eminence further reiterated: "Western countries are well aware of the fact that we are not after nuclear bombs. But their anger is due to the fact that a country has managed to develop such technology without their consent."
Ayatollah Khamenei also stressed that all countries who are capable of producing nuclear energy should make efforts to do so and said: "Due to the shortage of oil resources and the necessity to make efficient use of available resources, there is no other alternative but to move towards providing new energy sources such as nuclear energy which is the most efficient way of energy production."
Elsewhere in his speech, Ayatollah Khamenei described the relations between the two countries as strong and added: "Thanks to the strong relations between Iran and Venezuela, there are great capacities for cooperation and the two countries can expand their cooperation on international and regional fronts."
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution described the public support for the Venezuelan President as a great opportunity for the government of Venezuela and said: "When supported by its people, a government can strongly stand against all powers. And this is a divine blessing which Iran and Venezuela enjoy."
In this meeting which was also attended by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Mr. Chavez expressed his delight at meeting with Ayatollah Khamenei and said that he was a follower of the Islamic Revolution and its leaders.
He further added: "We have learnt many lessons from the experience of the Iranian people and government in standing against foreign and imperialist enemies and will strongly continue our efforts to defend our independence."
He described his negotiations with the Iranian President as very fruitful. He said that plans had been developed during the negotiations which set the framework for cooperation between Iran and Venezuela during the next ten years. Mr. Chavez also expressed hope that Iran and Venezuela will expand their cooperation.