Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was to arrive in Iran on Sunday for his latest visit to the Islamic republic, underlining the burgeoning ties between the two US foes. "Chavez will be arriving this evening accompanied by five ministers, including the foreign, oil and industry ministers," Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini told reporters.
Hosseini said the Venezuelan president would be signing an agreement on industry during his one-day visit. Both Chavez and his self-proclaimed political "brother", Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, are attending an OPEC summit in Riyadh, where Chavez warned oil could hit 200 dollars a barrel if the United States attacked Iran.
Chavez's visit will be his fourth to Iran since Ahmadinejad took office in 2005. He last visited Iran as recently as July, laying the foundations alongside Ahmadinejad for a joint petrochemical plant.
Despite their cultural differences, Iran and Venezuela have in the last years forged increasingly strong ties based on their shared dislike of the United States.
Chavez is the most vocal cheerleader in Latin America for Iran and its nuclear programme, which is feared by the West to be a cover for weapons development although Tehran insists it is purely peaceful.
Amid increasingly cool ties with the West over the nuclear stand-off, Iran has worked hard to cultivate its ties with Non-Aligned allies like Belarus, Bolivia Nicaragua, Syria and Venezuela.