TEHRAN – Two Iranian warships docked in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday after the Brazilian government of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva granted permission despite pressure from the United States to bar them, according to Reuters. 

The Iranian Navy's Makran and Dena warships berthed in Rio on Sunday, according to Brazilian port authorities. 

Earlier this month, Brazil had bowed to U.S. pressure and declined Iran's request for the vessels to dock in Rio in late January, in a gesture from Lula as he flew to Washington to meet U.S. President Joe Biden, according to a Reuters report. 

Vice Admiral Carlos Eduardo Horta Arentz, the deputy chief of Brazil's Naval Staff, gave his approval for the ships to dock in Rio between Feb. 26 and March 4, according to a Feb. 23 notice in the official gazette.

In mid-February, U.S. Ambassador Elizabeth Bagley urged Brazil not to allow the ships to dock.

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

On January 28, Rear Admiral Hamzeh Ali Kaviani, the Iranian Navy's second-in-command, had said that the vessels were sailing along Latin America's western shores and were to drop anchor in Rio within a few days, Press TV reported.