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(TALKZIMBABWE) Ayatollah Khamenei commends Pres Mugabe

Ayatollah Khamenei commends Pres Mugabe
By: Floyd Nkomo
Posted: Thursday, May 20, 2010 8:08 pm

IRANIAN Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Monday commended President Robert Mugabe for resisting political interference by the Western powers, pledging Tehran’s continued support for Zimbabwe.

Speaking with President Mugabe in Tehran on Monday on the sidelines of summit of the Group of 15, an offshoot of the Non-Aligned Movement, Supreme Leader Khamenei also applauded "strong, deep-rooted and friendly ties between Iran and Zimbabwe".

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited Zimbabwe last month to strnegthen ties with Zimbabwe. He made similar statements as the Ayatollah.

The Islamic republic is at loggerheads with Western countries who have pressured Tehran on its nuclear energy programme, suspecting Tehran intends to acquire nuclear weapons capabilities.

The summit was attended by the presidents of Algeria, Brazil, Senegal and Sri Lanka in addition to Zimbabwe.

Addressing the one-day gathering, President Mugabe launched a broadside at the United States and Britain, accusing them of “abusing the United Nations Security Council to bully and threaten smaller countries.” He reiterated his support for Iran’s controversial nuclear programme, which he had similarly endorsed during Ahmadinejad's visit.

Khamenei rallied developing countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia to strengthen ties to push development.

"The meddling trait of world powers is the scourge of humanity and the only counter measure against this is increased cooperation between independent states," Press TV of Iran quoted Khamenei as saying.

Labels: AYATOLLAH KHAMENEI, MUGABE, NEOCOLONIALISM, NON-ALIGNED MOVEMENT

posted by MrK @ 3:17 AM