Brazil resists US demands

(RT) ⸻ Rio de Janeiro has welcomed two Iranian warships after a diplomatic delay and in spite of US pressure. The Iranian warships IRIS Makran and IRIS Dena have docked in Rio de Janeiro, as confirmed by the deputy chief of Brazil's Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Carlos Eduardo Horta Arentz. The ships will remain there until March 4, when they depart further for the Panama Canal. Brazil has a history of relations with the Islamic Republic, welcoming then-president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2009 to try and broker a nuclear deal between Washington and Tehran. The US and Iran have a longstanding animosity towards each other, dating back to the Islamic Revolution and the 1979–81 hostage crisis. The US is also strongly opposed to Iran's possible nuclear power developments, arguing that they would grant the Middle Eastern country access to atomic weapons. In 2019, the Pentagon killed one of Iran's most powerful generals – Qassem Soleimani – in an airstrike, an event that only increased the mutual antagonism.