WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned yesterday of Iran “stunts” ahead of a visit to Latin America where regional powerhouse Brazil opposes the U.S. drive for new U.N. sanctions over Tehran’s nuclear programme.
Clinton said she fully expected Iran to “pull some stunt” in the coming days to try to divert pressure for sanctions, but predicted this would fail.
“I think we’ll see something coming up in the next 24 to 48 hours,” Clinton told reporters aboard her plane before departing. “I don’t think anybody should be surprised if they try to divert attention once again from the unity within the Security Council … but we have the votes,” she said.
Clinton’s trip takes her to Peru for a meeting of the Organization of American States (OAS), followed by stops in Ecuador, Colombia and Barbados.
The Obama administration has battled perceptions in Latin America that early vows of close cooperation have failed to materialize along with pledges to liberalize treatment of Cuba and to review immigration laws.
“The expectations in the region ran way ahead of reality and there is a certain disappointment and cynicism that has set it,” said Eric Farnsworth, vice president of the Washington, D.C.-based Council of the Americas.
“Some of these things are devilishly difficult and it is not going to happen over-night,” he said. “The secretary is going to try to put this in a broader context.”
U.S.-Brazil ties have been strained by possible new U.N. sanctions on Tehran, which Washington has said it hopes to put to a U.N. Security Council vote this week. Brazil, along with Turkey, wants more time for diplomacy. Both sides say the Iran issue is only one part of a broad and growing U.S.-Brazil relationship. But the dispute has set the United States publicly at odds with Latin America’s fastest rising power as it stakes out a spot on the world stage.
DISAGREEMENT ON HONDURAS
Clinton’s trip, her second to the region in three months, is aimed at reaffirming Washington’s commitment to Latin America on everything from the battle against drug trafficking to promoting regional trade.
But differences could erupt at the OAS meeting in Peru, particularly over the question of whether to readmit Honduras after a 2009 coup toppled President Manuel Zelaya.
The United States helped to broker November elections that put President Porfirio Lobo in power and says his administration deserves OAS recognition. Brazil and Argentina oppose it, arguing his government still has roots in a coup.
