The Islamic Republic sold oil to the Sandinista government in Nicaragua in the 1980s, and that unpaid debt, plus accum-mulated interest, now totals $164 million, according to the Managua daily El Nuevo Diario.
Last week, Ali Saeedlu, Iran’s vice president for international affairs, visited Managua and publicly announced at a joint news conference that Iran was forgiving that entire debt.
The same visit brought the announcement that Iran is providing Nicaragua with a new loan worth even more, $250 million, to pay for development projects in the country.
Saeedlu told President Daniel Ortega, who was standing beside him, “I wanted to take advantage of this trip to announce this news to you personally.”
A number of Nicaraguans have complained that Iran has made many promises of aid to Nicaragua since Ortega and his Sandinista party returned to power in 2007, but that little aid has materialized.
Saeedlu said the debt issue was “hampering deeper relations” between the two countries and that is why Iran wanted to clear it up.
The forgiven debt has not been reported inside Iran, where it could be controversial.