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.
Iran's trade with Argentina grew last year while trade with Brazil declined, according to an analysis by online business publication Latinvex based on data from the IMF. Iran's total trade with Latin America grew by 0.9% to 4 billion dollars in 2012. Brazil and Argentina still dominate Iran's trade with Latin America, accounting for 93% of the region's total trade with the Persian country.
In a recent letter to Republican senator Mark Kirk, the US State Department said that in light of Argentine prosecutor Alberto Nisman's report on Iran, they were now re-evaluating the information in their highly criticized May report on Iranian activity in the Western Hemisphere.