Netanyahu criticizes Lula and urges Brazil to expel Iranian warships from its territory

The Israeli government has urged the Lula government in Brazil to expel the two Iranian warships that docked in Rio de Janeiro on Feb. 26, calling the event “dangerous and regrettable.”

Israel on Thursday criticized Brazil’s decision to allow two Iranian warships to dock in Rio de Janeiro and urged President Lula da Silva’s government to send them away from Brazilian territory before the Iranian infiltration of its country is complete.

They are two warships, the IRIS Makran and IRIS Dena, which dropped anchor on Sunday morning, Rio’s port authority confirmed in a statement after thousands of network users reported that foreign warships were spotted from the beaches.

Reuters reported that Brazil refused to admit them in January, in a goodwill gesture by Lula while he was flying to Washington to meet with US President Joe Biden, but after returning from the US, he gave the go-ahead for the ships to dock in Brazil.

Lior Haiat, the spokesman for Israel’s Foreign Ministry, called the Brazilian berthing of the warships “a dangerous and regrettable development,” accusing the Iranian navy of working “closely” and synchronizing its actions with sanctioned entities in Tehran.

“Brazil should not give any award to an evil state, responsible for numerous Human Rights violations against its citizens, executing terrorist attacks around the world and proliferating weaponry to terrorist organizations across the Middle East,” Haiat continued on his official Twitter account.

“The Iranian regime has executed dozens of terrorist attacks against ships, endangering maritime freedom of navigation. Two of the attacks occurred in the past few weeks,” he added.

Finally, he closed his Twitter thread by saying that “this is the time to follow the steps taken by the EU (European Union), United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, and many other countries, and point out the Iranian regime for what it really is: a terrorist entity. It is still not too late to order ships to leave port.”

Vice Admiral Carlos Eduardo Horta Arentz, deputy chief of the Brazilian Naval General Staff, approved the ships to dock in the port of Rio between February 26 and March 4, according to a notice published in the official bulletin.

For the Brazilian Navy to authorize a foreign warship to dock in Brazil, prior authorization must exist from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

President Lula’s press office did not respond to a request for comment from Reuters.

The Iranian ships’ presence in Brazil has caused tensions with the United States.

At a press conference on February 15, US Ambassador to Brasilia Elizabeth Bagley urged Brazil not to allow the ships to dock.

“In the past, these ships have facilitated illegal trade and terrorist activities, and have also been sanctioned by the United States. Brazil is a sovereign nation, but we strongly believe that those ships should not dock anywhere,” she said.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Republican Senator Ted Cruz called for sanctions against the South American country after this unusual permission for the Iranian military to anchor in Brazil, calling it “a direct threat to the security of Americans.”

“The Biden administration is obligated to impose relevant sanctions, reevaluate Brazil’s cooperation with US counterterrorism efforts, and reexamine whether Brazil maintains effective counterterrorism measures at its ports,” said Republican Cruz in a statement.

Last Feb. 3, the US Treasury targeted IRIS Dena and IRIS Makran as Iranian property for sanctions related to a broader effort to punish Iran’s lethal drone industry.

The Treasury said in a statement that Makran could launch lethal drones and included Dena under the sanctions because it was part of the same surface action group.

Diplomacy with Iran was one of the highlights of Lula’s attempts to strengthen Brazil’s international position during his previous presidential terms.

Lula traveled to Tehran to meet with then-Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2010 as he sought to negotiate a nuclear deal between Iran and the United States.

Lula said Iran has the right to conduct “peaceful nuclear research” and should not be punished for “Western suspicions.”

Still, he remains silent now that Iranian nuclear scientists are on the verge of getting enough uranium refined to 90% to produce the atomic bomb.

With information from Derecha Diario