Israel criticises Brazil for letting Iranian vessels dock in Rio de Janeiro

Israel criticised Brazil on Thursday for allowing two Iranian warships to dock there in defiance of American pressure and urged President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s administration to remove them.

On Sunday, the ships anchored in Rio de Janeiro. According to Reuters, Brazil refused to take them in January as a gesture of goodwill from Lula before he travelled to Washington to meet with US President Joe Biden.

Since decades, Israel and Iran have been engaged in a struggle akin to the Cold War, which has featured charges of maritime sabotage from both sides and increased international pressure on Tehran over its nuclear programme and regional behaviour.

The Brazilian berth for the warships was described as “a hazardous and sad development” by Lior Haiat, a spokesperson for the Israeli Foreign Ministry. He also accused the Iranian navy of working with sanctioned organisations in Tehran.

Haiat wrote on Twitter that it was still possible to direct the ships to leave the port.

A request for response from Reuters was not answered by President Lula’s press office.

Tensions with the United States have also been brought up by the ships. The US ambassador to Brazil had asked Brazil not to permit the ships to dock in a press conference on February 15.

Following the docking on Wednesday, Senator Ted Cruz demanded penalties be imposed on the South American nation, calling it “a clear danger to the safety and security of Americans.”

Republican Cruz said in a statement that the Biden administration is required to implement appropriate sanctions, re-evaluate Brazil’s cooperation with US antiterrorism efforts, and re-examine if Brazil is maintaining efficient antiterrorism procedures at its ports.

A Brazilian newspaper reported on February 23 that the battleships had been granted permission to dock between February 26 and March 4.

One of Lula’s efforts to improve Brazil’s worldwide position during his prior presidential periods was diplomacy with Iran. In an effort to mediate a nuclear agreement between Iran and the United States, he went to Tehran in 2010 to meet with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the country’s then-president.