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Khamenei, Castro Meet, Reject US Hegemony
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday again rejected the hegemony of the US, which Iran regards as an arrogant power seeking a unipolar world, the official IRNA news agency reported.
During a meeting with visiting Cuban President Fidel Castro Wednesday afternoon, Khamenei said "our resistance against the US hegemony is based on Islamic beliefs that Iran regards any resistance against arrogance in the world as a righteous move."
Khamenei assured Castro that Iran and Cuba can defeat the US hand in hand.
On his part, Castro denounced the Western hegemony, saying that "the West, and particularly the US administration, despite their vast propaganda, act in a totally uncivilized manner."
He agreed with Khamenei on the point that the US is "extremely weak today," adding that "we are today eye-witness to their weakness, as their close neighbors."
Castro further stressed that "we are not scared of America today, and Cuban is stronger than ever in the past, forty years after the victory of its revolution."
The Cuban leader, leading a ranking delegation of officials and businessmen, arrived here Monday night on his first-ever visit to Tehran for a three-day stay.
His visit to Iran is mainly aimed at expanding ties between the two nations, in addition to drafting the future scheme of the G-77 of developing nations, whose presidency is currently held by Tehran.
Castro has already held talks with President Mohammad Khatami, parliamentary speaker Mehdi Karubi and former President Hashemi Rafsanjani. He is to leave here Friday after a three-day visit.
Iran and Cuba enjoy strong cordial relations and Cuba has always supported the Islamic Republic's stances at international scenes, IRNA said.
Castro Awarded Honorary DoctorateVisiting Cuban President Fidel Castro on Wednesday was awarded an honorary doctorate in political science by a Tehran university.
The doctorate was conferred by Iranian Minister of Science, Research and Technology Mostafa Moin at a ceremony held at the Tarbiat Modarress University here.
The welcome accorded to the Cuban leader was so enthusiastic that all seats at the university's large amphitheater were filled while the rest of the students had to watch the proceedings on closed circuit televisions, the official IRNA news agency said.
The 74-year-old Castro arrived here on Monday on his first-ever visit to Iran. Both nations have been branded terrorist states by Washington and under a unilateral U.S. embargo.
Speaking at the ceremony, Castro accused the West of trying to enslave people by virtue of its advanced science and technology, saying that "the people must be informed and awakened, they must not allow themselves to be pillaged by the West."
"If we didn't know the manner in which weak states are being plundered and if we didn't know the consequences of foreign debts, the unfair trade, and the factors behind the crisis, the conditions for further plundering would always be available for them," he said, adding that "the West wants to use its technological lead to make slaves of other peoples."
Castro visited Algeria before arrived in Tehran. He is due to wrap up visit on Friday and leave for Malaysia.
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