Iran and Cuba kicked off the year committing to enhancing their relationship and crafting a decade-long strategic partnership. In early January, senior officials from both countries met in Tehran to define the terms of this collaboration, the Jewish Breaking News (JBN) reported.
The rapprochement comes at a critical time for both nations. Iran is facing a severe energy crisis and rapid economic deterioration, while Cuba is experiencing its worst crisis in more than six decades under the communist regime, Argentine news site Infobae reported.
Mohammad Hossein Niknam, director general of International Cooperation at the Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education, who attended the meeting, said that despite the geographical distance Tehran and Havana have maintained mutual support for 40 years, the Islamic Republic News Agency reported.
“Iran is a strategic ally within the axis formed by China, Russia, and North Korea. In Latin America, that axis has Cuba as its main representative, which aims to act as a center of influence in the region,” Jorge A. Serrano Torres, technical advisor to the Intelligence Commission of the Peruvian Congress told Diálogo. “Therefore, their meetings or agreements, which seek to send a message to the hemisphere, are not surprising.”
“This agreement confirms an alliance that is pernicious for the hemisphere,” Serrano added. “More than a simple collaboration between Iran and Cuba, it seems like a political message from Russia, sent through Tehran, in the context of its conflict with Ukraine, a territory that Moscow continues to consider part of its sphere of influence.”
In early February both countries held in Havana their 19th Commission on Iran-Cuba Economic Cooperation. During the event, Iran expressed its interest in expanding its ties with Latin American countries as part of its geopolitical strategy, JBN reported.
Crisis and cooperation
This alliance is growing at a fragile time for Tehran, whose influence in the Middle East has diminished due to the fall of the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad, one of its main allies, and Israeli attacks against pro-Iranian militias, Infobae reported.
Although Cuba does not participate directly in the conflict in the Middle East, its growing political, technological, and military alliance with Iran represents a strategic factor that should not be underestimated in the current geopolitical panorama, U.S. daily The Hill reported.
“Cuba has decades of experience in clandestine intelligence operations, as does Iran, whose influence transcends borders,” said Serrano. “We cannot expect both countries to openly sign an intelligence or security cooperation agreement, because these actions are often carried out covertly.”
Agreements in 2024
In a climate marked by international sanctions, Iran and Cuba intensified their cooperation on different fronts during 2024.
In November, Iran’s Minister of Communication and Information Technology Seyed Sattar Hashemi, led an Iranian delegation to the Havana International Fair. The event served as a platform to promote trade and economic collaboration with Cuba, with a special focus on technology and telecommunications, the Cuban regime said in a statement.
In August, both countries’ main biological research institutions met in Geneva for the Biological Weapons Convention. During the meeting, both autocracies highlighted how international sanctions “hamper legitimate scientific cooperation,” Infobae reported.
In May, Tehran and Havana signed strategic agreements for the use of Cuban naval infrastructure “to meet the demand of South American countries,” with an emphasis on Venezuela, a key ally of Iran. In addition, Cuba signed a contract with the Iranian company Wagon Pars for the acquisition of parts and repair of train cars on the island, 14 y Medio reported.
By that month, Havana and Tehran had signed six agreements in telecommunications, information technology, and port services, and to promote exchanges in justice and customs, The Hill reported. In the last decade, Iran has supported Cuba with annual credit lines between $200 million and $500 million, consolidating political and strategic cooperation.
“These collaborations are not new. They have been working together for years,” Serrano said. “A clear example is how Cuba structured Venezuela’s intelligence system, using it as a platform to facilitate the infiltration of terrorist group Hezbollah and Iran into the region.”
Confronting terrorism in the region
“Latin America must adopt a firmer stance in the face of this threat, starting by recognizing Iran as a sponsor of terrorism. It is time to abandon inaction for fear of reprisals from Tehran or its terrorist groups, under the false premise that this guarantees security,” Serrano said. “They operate with their own codes and without respecting conventional rules.”
“A strategic rapprochement would make it possible to coordinate actions against the pernicious axis promoted by the regimes of Cuba and Venezuela, establishing an effective front against these threats,” he concluded.
