Ahmadinejad: Iran backs Brazilian nuclear mediation

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has agreed "in principle" to meditation by Brazil in order to break an international deadlock over Iran’s nuclear ambitions. According to a testament on Ahmadinejad’s website he agreed to Brazilian intervention while talking on the phone with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

A spokesman for the Brazilian Foreign Ministry subsequently denied that the government of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has yet to make an official offer for mediation. Yet the spokesman added "this does not mean that Brazil would not do so if other countries requested it."

While visiting Tehran last week Foreign Minister Celso Amorim backed intervention as the best way to resolve the impasse between Iran and Western powers. Assuming Ahmadinejad’s claims are true then Brazil’s possible mediation would be a major diplomatic victory for that South American country:

An emerging world player, Brazil has urged Western nations to negotiate a fair solution with Iran over its nuclear program. It has also called on Tehran to provide guarantees that its nuclear program has no military ambitions in return for enjoying its right to have peaceful nuclear technology.

Both Ahmadinejad and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton exchanged heated words in speeches this week at a conference on nuclear nonproliferation. In a TV interview last night, meanwhile, the Iranian leader said that his country will "definitely" continue its nuclear program despite the global opposition.

Image- Wall Street Journal (2009 image of the current Brazilian and Iranian presidents)
Online Sources- BBC News, AP, Voice of America, The Latin Americanist, Reuters