TEHRAN- After concluding his tour of Mauritania on February 1, Foreign Minister Amir Abdollahian of Iran flew to Latin America where he held talks with dignitaries from Nicaragua and Venezuela.

While in Mauritanian, Abdollahian said Iran is at the forefront of the war against terrorism and is ready to help secure Africa.

He also said the Islamic Republic is attentive to valuable initiatives by Mauritania in campaign against terrorism and moves to strengthen durable peace and security in Western Sahara.

The tour to Africa and Latin America took place amid claims that Iran is in its worst situation in its interactions with the outside world since the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979.

Concurrent with the visit to Latin America, the Iranian Navy deployed two military ships to Brazil that also headed for the Panama Canal, where Tehran declared it will establish a military presence.

The deployment came as a shock to Washington.

"We are aware of these claims by Iran’s navy. We continue to monitor Iran’s attempts to have a military presence in the Western Hemisphere," a U.S. State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital on Tuesday.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., also told Fox News Digital that “Tehran’s ability to expand its military presence in our hemisphere should be a warning sign.”

Reinforcing cooperation in face of pressures

Venezuela and Iran are considering ways to step up collaboration in a number of areas and swiftly completing cooperative projects. This entails enhanced vigilance in the face of pressure from the U.S.-led Western pressure.

During a meeting on Friday in Caracas, Abdollahian and President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuelan outlined certain plans.

The meeting focused on how to put MOUs and collaborative initiatives into action.

Both Maduro and Abdollahian emphasized the need to foster communication between government representatives from the two nations.

Abdollahian told Maduro that his visit to Tehran in mid-June 2022 marked a turning point in relations.

For his part, Maduro emphasized the need to strengthen ties while highlighting the vast experience that Iran and Venezuela have in dealing with similar problems.

The Iranian foreign minister also met his Venezuelan counterpart, Yvan Gil Pinto, stressing the value of cementing cooperation in all spheres.

Senior Iranian and Venezuelan officials also said they both are enthusiastic to level up their collaboration and fight harsh sanctions against their respective countries.

The top Iranian diplomat also addressed the Ukraine war and chastised Western nations for allowing the crisis to linger on and for using human rights as a tool to advance their political objectives.

For his part, Gil Pinto described Venezuela and Iran as two significant partners in the world.

Abdollahian also held separate meetings with Venezuela's Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, Minister of Petroleum Tareck El Aissami, and President of the National Assembly Jorge Rodrguez, during which he urged the two countries to work more closely together.

Two oil-rich OPEC members, Iran and Venezuela, are united in standing against the United States, their mutual foe. The two countries are subject to draconian sanctions by the U.S.

Despite having what is thought to be the greatest petroleum reserves in the world, Venezuela's production has been impeded due to problems brought on by U.S. sanctions.

Under President Maduro, relations between the two countries have improved as Caracas is working to reenergize the nation's economy.

Iran, Nicaragua discuss ways to thwart U.S. sanctions

Also, Abdollahian denounced the illegal sanctions the U.S. and some other Western countries have imposed against Iranian individuals and entities, pointing out that the Islamic Republic has continued to advance despite the coercive measures intended to halt the country's development.

Amir Abdollahian made the comments at a meeting with Daniel Ortega, the president of Nicaragua, on Thursday night in Managua.

“Despite the serious issues that the United States and some other countries' sanctions have brought about, we have been able to depend on our domestic resources and make significant advancements in a number of different areas,” the chief Iranian diplomat remarked.

Abdollahian also pointed to the Vienna talks intended to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement – JCPOA -, noting that Washington has been resolutely seeking contacts with Tehran to resume talks on the deal ditched by Donald Trump.

“We have never abandoned the negotiation table because of our Iranian and Islamic culture. However, we will respectfully advance the country's national interests during any round of negotiations,” he said.

In other parts of his remarks, the foreign minister expressed Tehran's eagerness for deeper ties with Managua.

He added that Iran promotes collaboration with Nicaragua with no restrictions.

He also said that Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi intends to travel to Nicaragua as part of a tour of Latin America and extended an official invitation to his Nicaraguan counterpart to visit Tehran.

For his part, Ortega said that imperialist and haughty powers are manipulating UN chief Antonio Guterres as well as the human rights organizations connected to the international organization.

“The foes of world peace and serenity have continued their imperialist activities and see the entire world as their backyard, not just Latin America. In the name of democracy, they have supported slavery, waged wars against other governments, and occupied several countries,” he said, adding, “Nations across the world have, nevertheless, struggled for and reclaimed their independence. Imperialists are still moving on with their plans and committing terrorist acts.”