“Brazil sends the wrong message,” says the US on Iranian ship presence
Docked in the Port of Rio de Janeiro with authorization from the Brazilian Navy, the two Iranian ships are equipped with cruise missiles, anti-naval weapons, and torpedoes
Seen by US officials as a kind of affront to the sovereignty of the United States in the region, the permission given by the Brazilian Navy for Iranian ships to dock in the port of Rio de Janeiro (RJ) was criticized by the White House last Wednesday night (8).
According to White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre, “Brazil is sending the wrong message” by allowing the ships, which have been in the port of Rio de Janeiro since February 26, to dock.
The justification given by the authorities is that the vessels would be using Brazil as a last stopover before the frigates’ arrival in the Panama Canal, one of the planet’s main strategic points.
“Hosting Iranian naval vessels belonging to a regime that is brutally repressing its people, supplying Russia with weapons for use in the war against Ukraine, and being involved in terrorism and weapons proliferation worldwide sends the wrong message in the wrong direction,” Jean-Pierre said in a press conference.
When asked about the Asian country’s recent strategic maneuvers, the US State Department said “that it has been monitoring the ships’ operations” since their departure in Tehran.
With information from Brasil Sem Medo
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