MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Iranian warships dock in Rio de Janeiro until March 4

The naval units are in South America at the same time Iran was reported to have enriched uranium barely below the levels needed to build an atomic bomb

Two Iranian warships have been cleared to dock at Rio de Janeiro during the weekend despite pressure from the United States, it was reported. The warships IRIS Makran and IRIS Dena arrived Sunday morning, Rio's port authority said in a statement.

Brazil had previously bowed to US pressure and rejected Iran's request for the ships to dock in Rio in late January, ahead of President Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva's trip to Washington DC to an audience with his colleague Joseph Biden.

However, after Lula's trip was over, the ships were cleared to dock by Brazilian Navy Deputy Chief of Staff, Vice Admiral Carlos Eduardo Horta Arentz. The two vessels are to stay in Rio until March 4. The authorization was granted following the green light from Itamaraty Palace (Brazilian Foreign Ministry), according to local media.

During a press conference on Feb. 15, US Ambassador to Brasilia Elizabeth Bagley urged Brazil not to allow the ships to dock: “In the past, these ships facilitated illegal trade and terrorist activities, and have also been sanctioned by the United States. Brazil is a sovereign nation, but we strongly believe that these ships should not dock anywhere,” Ambassador Bagley had pointed out.

The IRIS Makran can carry up to five helicopters and is reportedly Iran's largest military vessel since 2021, while the smaller IRIS Dena is equipped with torpedoes and anti-ship cruise missiles, O Globo reported.

During his previous presidencies, Lula was close to Tehran. In 2010 he met then-Iranian-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to broker a nuclear deal between the Asian country and the United States.

In this scenario, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has confirmed Tuesday that Iran enriched uranium to 83.7 % at the Fordow fuel plant in January, well above the agreed 60 % and at levels just below those needed to build an atomic bomb.

“Iran informed the UN agency that undesirable fluctuations in enrichment levels may have occurred. Discussions to clarify the matter are ongoing,” according to an IAEA statement.

Iran's Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Spokesman Behruz Kamalvandi, argued that the existence of those particles was common during the uranium enrichment process and stressed that “what matters is the final product and Iran has never embarked on enrichment to a level higher than 60 %.”