What is Iran doing in Bolivia?

Bolivians are starting to get jumpy about the presence of Iranians in their country according to the Washington Times’ Martin Arostegui;

“We need to ask what Iran’s real interest is in Bolivia,” said Roman Loayza, a [Movement Toward Socialism (MAS)] dissident who is running against Mr. Morales in presidential elections scheduled for December. “Evo has no business entering into agreements with foreign interests at the back of the Bolivian people which could harm our environment,” Mr. Loayza told The Washington Times. Bolivian officials insist that Iran’s activities in Bolivia are benign. Iran’s ambassador has toured Indian communities and promised to finance development projects. Mr. Morales has said that Iran wants to build a radio and TV station in his home district of Chapare to “support the peasant struggle in South America.”

Of course, the easiest answer is that Iran wants to mine uranium from Bolivia’s rich deposits to fuel it’s nuclear program. The Israelis have accused Morales of entering into mineral agreements with Iran with just that purpose in mind. Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman was touring South America to avoid that prospect just last week. Last year, the Bush Administration was concerned about Hezbollah operating in the region, more specifically in Venezuela at the behest of Hugo Chavez. In fact, a few years ago, Chavez threw Christian missionaries out of Venezuela and replaced them with Islamic missionaries.

Category: Barack Obama/Joe Biden, Foreign Policy, Hugo Chavez, Terror War