Thread by @jmhumire

🧵THREAD - A few key takeaways about Iran’s VP Mohsen Rezaee trip to Nicaragua 🇳🇮.

1. Iran has carefully mapped logistical routes through & around Africa that enable the IRGC to boost its Latin America presence. The route relies on Non-Aligned Movement member countries.

2. Iran and ALBA have a script and SOP for avoiding INTERPOL on these types of trips, which includes diplomatic delays and bureaucratic inertia.

Iran ran the same play for Ahmad Vahidi, former Defense Minister and current Interior Minister, in his 2011 trip to Bolivia 🇧🇴

3. Iran has no significant trade or comercial balance in Latin America, but rather has a precedent for using commerce in the region as a cover for its nefarious terrorist activities.

READ our 2016 report for more on that: securefreesociety.org/research/after…

4. Iranian flights to/from Venezuela are increasing. 16 Fars Air Qeshm flights in 2021, despite the pandemic. But it’s the Vz state-owned airline CONVIASA that’s the most suspicious.

There were 296 Maduro regime Conviasa flights to/from Iran in 2021!

5. Back in Feb 2020 Conviasa’s infamous “aeroterror” YV1004 flew between CCS - Montevideo -
Managua with Iranian pilots. That’s with former Mahan Air Iranian pilots flying Vz state-owned aircraft in LatAm, including to NIcaragua. And that was early 2020.

https://twitter.com/lcoutinho/status/1229055561817300993

6. The Biden admin needs to take this issue of Iran in Latin America very seriously and Congress should make sure of it. @MaElviraSalazar @SenTedCruz @marcorubio @RepSires @SenatorMenendez @RepMcCaul

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