Brazil’s Lula Runs Interference for Iran’s Nuclear Ambitions

Ray Walser / May 13, 2010

Brazil’s President Ignacio Lula da Silva will visit Tehran on May 15. International attention will focus on the visit because Iran has said it agrees “in principle” with working through Brazil and Turkey to broker a nuclear fuels exchange deal with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Despite this diplomatic camouflage, Iran’s central objective remains avoiding or watering  down possible UN sanctions and sowing confusion among international players with a diplomacy of gestures and bluffs.  It aims to buy more time at the expense of the U.S. and the West to develop a nuclear weapon.

Many in Washington are reassessing their opinion of Brazil’s popular president and his commitment to responsible global leadership. (more…)