In the News
Iton Gadol covered B’nai B’rith International’s conversation with political scientist and terrorism expert Emanuele Ottolenghi about Iran’s malign behavior in the Latin American region, as part of our Lens on Latin America series.
As part of the series that explores different facets of Israel’s relationship with Latin America, B’nai B’rith Director of Latin American Affairs Eduardo Kohn, and Special Advisor for Latin American and U.N. Affairs Adriana Camisar, spoke with political scientist and terrorism expert Emanuele Ottolenghi about Iran’s malign behavior in the Latin American region.
Asked about the recent pact between Bolivia and Iran, Ottolenghi stressed: “Iran’s intention in Latin America is to deepen its relations with allied regimes to gain more access. In the case of Bolivia there is already a close cooperation, a bond of friendship, which allowed Iran to enter Bolivia for years with a presence not only with the embassy, but with a cultural center, the presence of military instructors and that is why this agreement gives us aware of the ease of Iran to offer benefits to its allies and take advantage of this situation to gain more presence to conduct operations in the region.”
“Last year, Iran missed the possibility of traveling throughout Latin America in the episode of the Venezuelan-Iranian plane, and that is why the possibility of expanding its presence in Bolivia is something that will improve its situation,” he added.