Iran’s Ahmadinejad to meet U.S. foes in visit to South America

Iran Focus: Tehran, Iran, Jan. 10 – Iran’s hard-line president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will travel to the South American continent later this week, meeting several foes of the United States, state media reported on Wednesday. Iran Focus

Tehran, Iran, Jan. 10 – Iran’s hard-line president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will travel to the South American continent later this week, meeting several foes of the United States, state media reported on Wednesday.

During his four-day tour, beginning on Saturday, Ahmadinejad will visit Ecuador, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, state television said.

Ahmadinejad will leave Tehran on Friday and begin his tour Saturday morning in Caracas, where he will meet and hold talks with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Ahmadinejad last visited Venezuela in September 2006.

Chavez, a stringent opponent of the U.S., has openly defended Tehran’s nuclear program.

On Sunday, Ahmadinejad will arrive in Managua where he will meet with incoming Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega.

On Monday, he will travel to Quito to take part in the swearing-in ceremony of Ecuador’s new president Rafael Correa.

He will also hold talks with Bolivia’s Evo Morales during the trip, the report said.