Chavez backs Iran 'under any circumstances'

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez vowed Tuesday to back ally Tehran "under any circumstances" as his

'Venezuela seriously considers cooperation with Iran as a holy matter'

Venezuelan President says independent nations can join forces in 'facing imperialists'.

By Farhad Pouladi - TEHRAN

Iranian counterpart and host praised Caracas for fighting sanctions against the Islamic republic.

"Venezuela will remain alongside Iran under any circumstances," Chavez, who is on his ninth visit to the Islamic republic, told Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during a meeting, according to the presidency website.

"Venezuela seriously considers cooperation with Iran as a holy matter," he said, adding "independent nations" can join forces to "strengthen our power in facing imperialists."

Chavez has been trying to bolster his international standing as he continues to spar openly with the United States, an arch-foe of Iran.

The firebrand South American leader's visit to Iran is part of an international tour aimed at strengthening his country's economic ties with eastern Europe and the Middle East.

Relations between Iran and Venezuela, two major oil-producing nations, have flourished under Ahmadinejad's presidency, especially after Chavez's openly backed Tehran's nuclear drive.

Ahmadinejad himself visited Venezuela in November last year in what was seen as an act of defiance against US-led efforts to step up sanctions against Iran for refusing to abandon its sensitive uranium enrichment programme.

On Tuesday, the Iranian hardliner praised Venezuela for supporting his country.

"The progressive and brotherly stance taken by Venezuela in condemning the sanctions imposed by bullying powers against the Iranian nation displays deep and strong bilateral relations," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying on the presidency website.

He said "cooperation between independent nations against the domineering powers favours humanity. Despite pressure by the dominating world system, Iran's influence in the region has risen."

Chavez's visit aims to boost energy and trade ties with Iran and comes days after he clinched a deal with Russia to build Venezuela's first nuclear power plant.

Iran's English-language Press TV said on its website that Chavez's talks in Tehran would focus on expanding cooperation in the hydrocarbon and petrochemical sectors.

On the agenda are the plans for a joint oil shipping company and joint construction of petrochemical plants, as well as Venezuelan participation in the exploitation of Iran's South Pars gas field, the website said.

The two governments already signed memorandums of understanding on the three projects last year.

Over the past five years, the two OPEC members have signed a series of agreements on oil and gas cooperation as the Iranian industry has been hit by pullouts by Western firms in the face of UN and US sanctions.

Venezuela's agreement with Moscow to build the nuclear power plant has raised eyebrows in Washington which has had difficult relations with Chavez.

"It is certainly a right of any country to pursue civilian nuclear energy, but with that right comes responsibilities," State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told reporters this week.

Russia meanwhile has been building Iran's first nuclear power plant in the southern city of Bushehr for more than a decade. It is due to go on stream later this year or early next year.