Meeting of President Comandante Daniel and Compañera Rosario, Vice President of Nicaragua,
with Dr. Hossein Amirabdollahián, Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran
February 2nd 2023
Remarks by Daniel
Good afternoon, beloved Brother Hossein Amirabdollahian, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Nicaraguan brothers and sisters, Nicaraguan families, the Foreign Minister heads a delegation where there are Deputies of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, there is the body of advisers of the Foreign Ministry, the spokespersons, he is also accompanied by experts, directors, Minister Advisors, the Ambassador, among others.
This is a Delegation that is here after a long journey and we welcome you on behalf of the Nicaraguan People, and offer all our appreciation, our affection for the People of Iran, for the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khomeini; likewise our greeting to the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi.
These are times of struggle for the Sovereignty of the Peoples, for Peace, and we face the same enemy, the enemy you faced and overthrew with the Iranian Revolution in 1979, which is the same enemy we face here in Nicaragua, that we defeated in 1979.
And the enemies of Peace, as we well know, want to continue implementing their imperialist, hegemonic, colonialist, neocolonialist policies, not only in what they have called the backyard of the United States, namely Latin America and the Caribbean, but in the World. For them, the World is their backyard.
How many wars, how many aggressions, how many crimes have been committed against the Peoples, by the Imperialists of the Earth, those who established and installed slavery in the name of Democracy and occupied entire Peoples; and the Peoples rebelled, they rebelled, they fought, they were becoming independent, but still the Empire continues to insist on its hegemonic policy.
We have already seen the latest acts of terrorism there in Iran, how they launched drone attacks on security points, defying the will for Peace of the People of Iran and the Peoples of the World.
We welcome you on this day that marks the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazism in Stalingrad. That Heroic People, the Soviet People, resisted the whole machinery of the forces of Nazism, which was no more than a creation, a manifestation of Capitalism.
Also on a day like today, a Brother much beloved by the Latin American and Caribbean Peoples, and beloved by the People of Iran, took office, assuming the Presidency of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Comandante Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías.
How glad we are at the initiative of the wife of the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Dr. Jamileh Alamolhoda, to have convened the Congress of Influential Women, from January 18 to 23. And how glad we are to have participated with outstanding women in the defense of Sovereignty and the Rights of the People in our Country.
The compañera president of the National Council of Universities took part. The Minister of the Interior, the Minister of Health, the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, the Minister of the Family, the Minister of Youth were also present there, and we incorporated the Best Teacher of the Year 2022 into that Delegation.
An initiative for Peace, for Life, not the initiatives being taken by the European Union in submission to the Yankee government, to the United States, which are meetings to propagate death. In Iran, the call was for Life.
The meeting that recently took place here in Latin America, in the Argentine Republic, of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, CELAC, was a meeting for Life. And there we are talking about Peoples, Nations, States, who have taken on the commitment to defend the Region, Latin America and the Caribbean as a Region for Peace.
Meanwhile, the so-called Western ”democracies", Europe, the United States, continue their terrorist campaigns against the world's Peoples.
We already know, all too well, the threats, the sanctions, the aggressions against the People of Iran; the threats, sanctions, aggressions, against the People of Bolívar, the People of Chávez, the People of our brother Nicolás Maduro, and how the imperialists of the Earth calmly threatened to sink the ships that carried additives from Iran, carrying out oil operations so that oil production could be improved while Venezuela is subjected to a brutal blockade.
But the People and the Government of Iran did not let themselves be intimidated, and the Venezuelan people did not let themselves be intimidated either, and those relations of Cooperation, of Exchange, with the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela were achieved and continue to be achieved.
The same applies to the blockade of Cuba... 60 years of blockade! And here we ask: What is the United Nations for? Because if the United Nations, its General Assembly has already voted countless times with over 90% of the votes to end the blockade and nothing happens, what does it mean? That the United Nations is in the hands of the Yankee Empire, and that the Secretary General of the United Nations is simply an instrument of imperialist policy, just as the United Nations Human Rights Organizations are instruments of the Empire.
The battle continues to be a battle calling for the unity of our Peoples, calling for the unity of our Regions, and we are certain, we are convinced that the Future is already defined, imperialist domination will not be able to prevail in the world.
With the forces that have been emerging in different Regions, political Forces, Forces of States, Forces of Peoples that have been emerging, defending respect for International Law and thereby strengthening Multipolarity, that is what is already under way, that is what has been making its mark.
Nicaragua is a nation with a very small territory, but installed at a point in the center, precisely in the center of the Americas. There's Central America, we go North and we get to Mexico, the United States, Canada, and we go South, and there's this little belt of land here in Central America and at the center is Nicaragua.
And why this aggressiveness of the Yankee Empire attacking, wanting to take over Nicaragua? Why? Why the disputes between the Empires of the time when the Spanish invaded our lands, the disputes between the Empires themselves? Why the dispute over Nicaragua? The contradictions, the clashes, the confrontations between the British, the Americans, the French even, the Germans, everyone there taking part in those confrontations, wanting to possess Nicaragua. Why?
There was no oil here, there was no lithium here, now that lithium is so sought after; here there is a hard working, peasant population, for the most part, but one with great Dignity, with great Dignity!
What did they want from Nicaragua? To take over Nicaragua to build the Canal through Nicaragua, that was the strategic value of Nicaragua and it remains still the strategic value of Nicaragua; and that explains why the invasions of the expansionists of the United States to Nicaragua.
That explains why they even dared in the years 1850-56 to install a Yankee President here in Nicaragua, who by force of arms came with armed people from the United States and installed himself as President, and the Yankee Ambassador participated in his inauguration at the time, and the Yankee government recognized him.
That Yankee President, William Walker, on taking over the government here in Nicaragua, the first thing he did was to decree slavery, but the People, who have Dignity, who have the heritage of the resistance of those who confronted the Spanish conquistadors, that People rebelled and engaged the Yankee President's troops in combat, and the first great defeat of Yankee expansionism took place here in Nicaragua, in the year 1856.
And from there arose the first Hymns of Dignity, where these humble, hardworking people, fighting for their Sovereignty, wrote hymns in which they sang: "Death to the Yankee thirsty for gold, death to the vile and cruel invader"; and let no one say that this was Communism when the October Revolution had not yet triumphed. It was Patriotism, it was Dignity, it was the Soul of the People, and that produced the strength to defeat them.
So then the Yankees sent frigates to rescue them and take them to the United States.
Later on, Yankee troops came at the beginning of the century, in the 1900s to put an end to a Liberal Revolution, a Revolution that had not failed to take sovereign decisions, and as they were not to the liking of the North American rulers, then the President who led that Revolution received a note from the United States Secretary of State, Philander Knox, the “Knox Note”, where they gave him an ultimatum to leave the Government, and that US troops were coming to Nicaragua.
And the troops came, the Yankee troops landed, but there were some patriots who confronted the Yankee troops, led by true Nicaraguan patriots, led by General Benjamín Zeledón, who was surrounded by Yankee troops, on October 4th 1912, on his birthday, and after the Yankees had offered him to spare his life if he surrendered, he said, “I'm not surrendering”; and he gave his life there confronting the Yankees.
And Sandino, who was a boy from the countryside, saw how the Yankees dragged Zeledón's dead body through the villages to frighten the people. And Sandino remembers that anecdote, because it was the moment when he, who had not thought about being involved in combat, his Soul was filled with Dignity and rejection of the Yankees.
That explains why Sandino later organized a detachment of peasants, of workers, the 29 that he managed to gather, 30 with him, and started combat against the Yankee troops that they were being brought in, the Yankees also used their aviation here, already back in those years.
Sandino started the combat, and from where did he get so much strength, so much moral courage? An unequal battle. But the Yankees couldn't defeat Sandino. So in the end, as they looked ridiculous not being able to defeat Sandino, not being able to kill Sandino, not being able to destroy the Army in Defense of National Sovereignty that Sandino created, finally they decided to withdraw from Nicaragua. And it is recorded there in the Pentagon, in history, the defeat the Yankees suffered here in Nicaragua when they had to withdraw, in 1933.
Of course, the Yankees had their plan, the plan was to install a puppet president so that once the Yankee troops were no longer there, negotiations and dialogue for peace would take place. The president suggested this, the puppet President suggested it, and so Sandino agreed to dialogue for Peace, while it was clear that the risks were enormous.
And he came here to Managua, he came down from the mountains twice, and on the last occasion the president invited him to the presidential residence for a dinner, and Sandino arrived there with his father, with his brother, for dinner, and after dinner, when he set out to return to the house where he was staying, he was stopped by the troops the Yankees had trained with their local mercenaries, with the traitors, headed by Somoza.
And just days before Somoza, and there's that historic photograph, he had taken a photograph with Sandino, embracing Sandino, the embrace of betrayal, embracing Sandino, and he himself had him executed, killing him, on February 21st 1934. We are in the month in which Sandino takes the leap towards Immortality.
This explains why the world's Peoples, Revolutionary Governments have to be very consistent and very firm, have to be clear that when they talk about dialogue, negotiation, the Imperialists of the Earth already poisoned their negotiation proposals; which are poisoned, for what? So as to destroy and do away with the rights of the world's Peoples.
We understand very well the struggle that you have been waging when the starting point is an imposition by the Imperialists; that is, they can build atomic bombs and no one else. And while it's true that we are no lovers of atomic bombs, by what authority do the only criminals who in the history of mankind have dropped atomic bombs, where they annihilated in one go more than 250,000 citizens in Hiroshima and Nagasaki by what authority do they want to prohibit Iran, if it wants to develop, build atomic bombs, being a country threatened by great powers that do have atomic weapons? By what authority do they want to take away the atomic bombs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea? By what authority? So as to crush them!
Yes, because in this world what would be appropriate is that we all set out to have our little atomic weapons so that they respect us, because they do show respect when they know that the one they want to crush has the atomic weapon. And that is why they have exerted pressure, blackmail, aggression against Iran, even when Iran, as we know, has instead shared its efforts to develop atomic energy for peaceful purposes.
But they have no right to dictate who should have atomic bombs and who should not have atomic bombs in the world. The greatest criminals on Earth have no rights in that regard since they are the only ones who have dropped atomic bombs on the world's Peoples.
Ah, if the consensus were that they are going to be destroyed, that all atomic weapons are going to disappear, that would be wonderful, of course, then all atomic weapons disappear, starting with the ones the Yankees have. Then, certainly there would be incomparably better conditions in the world such that no one would think of building atomic weapons again.
Beloved Chancellor Hossein, we know that we are united by ideas, ideals and objectives, for example Peace for our Peoples and Peace for the World. Here in Our America, as I was saying, in Latin America and the Caribbean, indeed there are still difficult situations, like the blockade of Cuba, and our Solidarity is always for the Land of Martí, Fidel, Raúl, President Miguel Díaz-Canel; for the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, our Solidarity with the People of Bolívar, of Chávez, of Nicolás.
Our solidarity with the Bolivian people who are suffering attacks, where a coup d'état is being tried again. And also with the Peruvian People where an election was held, a school teacher from the Countryside was elected, a simple, humble man, but after all the oligarchy, managed by imperialism and by the world's imperialists, what it has done is to wage, first a campaign from the Congress, and then carry out a coup d'état against the President of Peru, President Pedro Castillo, and they have him in prison.
The people are protesting, yes, the people are mobilizing, the humble people, the impoverished people, it is the working people who are demonstrating every day there in Peru, and there are now more than 60 murdered. And what do the imperialists of the world have to say? Nothing! There's nothing going on there! There is no condemnation, no condemnation from the United Nations, no condemnation from the Yankees, from the Europeans... No, none! Why? Simply because they are being themselves.
They themselves are fueling these crimes, simply because they do not want to recognize the right for the president to resume to his presidency, which is what the People demand, for him to be released from prison and to occupy the presidency again. Dramatic situations too like the one we are also experiencing in Haiti, a dramatic situation.
But in the midst of all these dramatic situations there are new energies, new winds that bring us closer together and give us more strength to continue fighting for Sovereignty, for the Unity of our Peoples, and for Peace. In that spirit, beloved brother, we welcome you and the People of Iran.
Remarks by Hossein Amirabdollahián
Foreign Minister of Iran
In the name of God, very good evening. Your Excellency President Daniel Ortega, Your Excellency Vice-President Rosario Murillo, your Excellencies, Nicaraguan authorities, it is a great pleasure and a great joy for me to be here tonight in your presence, that you have received me and the high level delegation that accompanies me on this visit to your beautiful Country.
President Ortega, your name for the memory of the Iranian People, for the free Peoples of the World, is always equivalent to Revolution, equivalent to Freedom and Sovereignty and Independence.
These days we are celebrating the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution of Iran, the 44th Anniversary of the Triumph of the Islamic Revolution. We never forget that the Islamic Revolution in Iran coincided with the same year that the Sandinista Revolution in Nicaragua triumphed, and it is a matter of great pride that Nicaragua in recent decades has resisted with dignity the pressures and aggressions of imperialism.
The Islamic Republic of Iran has also heroically resisted the excessive demands and pressures of the governments of the United States of America for more than four decades, and has not only resisted, but despite all these pressures has achieved great advances and progress.
I would like to convey to you the cordial and warm greetings of the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Dr. Raisi, and the high level authorities of my Country, and also the cordial greetings of the noble People of Iran to the good People of Nicaragua.
Señor President Ortega, Señora Vice President Murillo, from the first moment of our arrival in your beautiful country we met with the kind and warm welcome of your Foreign Minister, of your senior advisor, of the other advisors and authorities of your Government, of the Minister of Youth. We are very grateful for the warm welcome and the excellent attention that each of the authorities of the fraternal country of Nicaragua has given us.
As you mentioned, in addition to the directors and advisers of the Foreign Ministry, Mr. Morteza Mahmoudvand, Deputy of our Islamic Constituent Assembly, is also part of our Delegation, who will support us so that all the Agreements signed between the two governments are approved by the Assembly, and will help through parliamentary diplomacy the development and deepening of our bilateral relations.
Dr. Jamileh Alamolhoda, wife of the President of the Republic, was very interested in hosting Señora Vice President Murillo at the Congress of Influential Women.
We would like to take this opportunity to express our infinite gratitude for the appointment of a high level Delegation made up of six cabinet ministers of the government of Nicaragua and one of the high level academic authorities of your country who participated in this important international congress.
We are aware of and understand the reason why we did not have the honor of the presence of the Vice President at this Congress, but we received her inspiring and spiritual message.
Your Excellency President Ortega, tonight you pointed out some historical truths to us and some very important international historical realities.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank my counterpart, the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Nicaragua, that during his recent visit to Tehran we signed the Comprehensive Long-term Cooperation Agreement between the two countries. This will serve as an Agreement and a Roadmap for long-term cooperation between our countries.
Last night, here we also signed the document for the Agreement on Cooperation and Political Consultations.
President Ortega, Vice President Murillo, we admire the role that you and your compañeros and compañeras, the Nicaraguan authorities have played in the important development that your country has achieved, part of which we were able to observe in the visits we made today.
Mr President, it is true that the sanctions and aggressions of the United States and the Western Countries have caused us some problems and annoyances, but the Islamic Republic of Iran, focusing on and prioritizing its Sovereignty and Independence and the internal capabilities of its People, has gained very valuable experience and has been able to develop and continue on the path of development; even achieving in some areas of science, technology and defense, magnificent advances of the kind that only the most industrial and advanced countries in the world have been able to achieve.
The directives and leadership of the Supreme Leader of the Revolution in our country and the active role played by the Iranian People, including Women and Youth, have been very important in the advances and progress we have made.
I would like to inform you also that today we had a very important meeting with compañero Laureano Ortega, your senior adviser, and with the economic authorities of your Government.
Your senior advisor last night asked us via what mechanism we could implement the Agreements signed so far.
Every time we submit reports to the Supreme Leader of the Revolution and the President of the Republic of Iran, we indicate in those reports the number and quantity of the documents and Agreements we have signed, and we receive back from them the reply that while it is important to sign Agreements, it is even more important to implement and execute those Agreements.
I would like to thank you very much for having agreed that two high-level delegates from both countries will monitor the implementation of the Agreements signed .
Señor President, Señora Vice-President, we consider the development of Nicaragua as our own development, and Nicaragua's energy security is of great importance to us.
Donald Trump, former President of the United States, tried very hard to reduce Iran's oil exports to zero through various sanctions and restrictions; while at the same time we in Iran used all our efforts to neutralize the sanctions.
The US side is still looking for ways to negotiate with Iran, including its insistence to enter into direct negotiations with Iran. You very well mentioned the objective and purpose the United States has when they want to negotiate with Sovereign countries and Peoples.
We in our Iranian Culture and Islamic Culture have never run away from the negotiating table, we have never distanced ourselves from the negotiations, but always at the negotiating table we have pursued our national interests with strength, with logic and with dignity.
Mr. President, to conclude my remarks, I would like to note something important, namely that the Islamic Republic of Iran sees no limit to the development of every kind of friendly relations with the fraternal and friendly People of Nicaragua.
The People and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran have taken firm steps, and continue to take firm steps on the path of Sovereignty and Development, and we reached some Agreements today with your government's economic team; but before that we had also held talks and Agreements with your Foreign Minister to comply with, as we are committed to honoring, each of the Agreements signed between both friendly governments.
Fortunately, our embassies and Ambassadors in both our countries' capitals are actively following up the Agreements and objectives we have set ourselves.
Mr. Ambassador Salehi is highly trusted by the new administration, our country's new government, and is making his best efforts, as he will continue to do, to comply with all the Agreements that have been reached between us, including the Agreements that reached in today's meetings.
Señor President Daniel Ortega, Señora Vice President Rosario Murillo, beloved compañeros and compañeras, high authorities of the Government of Nicaragua, in conclusion I would like to express my best wishes for your Government, for your People and for all of you, beloved compañeras and compañeros.
We are planning a future visit of President Raisi to the Latin American region, including the friendly country of Nicaragua. And I would also like to extend the invitation of President Raisi to Your Excellency, and also of the First Executive Vice President of the Republic, to Señora Vice President, to honor us with a visit by you to our country.
Once again, I am very grateful for the opportunity you have given us to meet with you.