with Venezuela, its efforts to make financial connections in Latin America have been a complete flop.
Daniel Glaser, the assistant secretary of the Treasury charged with chasing after Iran’s finances, told a hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, “It is in the interest of an increasingly isolated Iran to seek expansion of its economic and financial ties to Latin America,” referring to UN and other sanctions against Tehran.
However, “The reality is that to date Iran has failed to establish a meaningful financial foothold in this region,” Glaser said. “When Iran has managed to make inroads, we have been quick to act.”
He cited the example of the United States designating Banco Internacional de Desarrollo, a Venezuelan-based subsidiary of the Export Development Bank of Iran, as a weapons proliferator.
“We have also pro-actively engaged with governments and private sector officials throughout the region to warn against the risk of doing business with Iran,” he said.
William Brownfield, a senior State Department official, said Iran had deepened its ties with Venezuela, headed by anti-American President Hugo Chavez.
“There is much a greater presence, official presence of the Iranian government in Venezuela today than there was, say, 10 years ago,” Brownfield told the congressmen.
“There is obviously a much stronger political relationship, visits between the two presidents and engagement at senior levels than there was 10 years ago,” he said.
“ Third, there is greater mutual support in international organizations like the United Nations, like the IAEA, the International Atomic Energy Agency, than there was 10 years ago,” he said.