Zimbabwean soldiers stand guard as Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi inspects the guard of honour upon his arrival at Robert Mugabe airport in Harare, Zimbabwe, Thursday, July 13, 2023. Iran’s president is on a rare visit to Africa as the country, which is under heavy U.S. economic sanctions, seeks to deepen partnerships around the world. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi was welcomed in Zimbabwe on Thursday by people singing songs criticizing the West as he arrived on what’s expected to be the last stop of his three-nation Africa trip.
Raisi was greeted at Harare’s international airport by Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who thanked the Iranian leader for showing “solidarity.”
Both countries are under U.S. sanctions and Raisi’s trip to Africa, which has already included stops in Kenya and Uganda, highlights Iran’s efforts to build new partnerships in a bid to soften the impact of those heavy economic punishments.
Iran and Zimbabwe already have a joint permanent commission on political and trade relations.
They also share historical ties and Mnangagwa thanked Raisi for Iran’s help in a liberation war in the 1970s that eventually led to the southern African nation breaking free of white minority rule.
“When we went to war, Iran was our friend. I am happy you have come to show solidarity,” Mnangagwa said in brief remarks on the tarmac at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport named after the late Zimbabwean leader Mnangagwa helped oust in a coup in 2017.
Dozens of supporters came out to see Raisi arrive, with some waving Zimbabwe’s and Iranian flags, and some holding placards with Raisi’s face on them. They also sang songs criticizing the West as “white masters” intent on interfering in Zimbabwe.
Members of Zimbabwe’s Muslim community also came to the airport to welcome Raisi and he inspected an honor guard by Zimbabwe’s military.
On his visit to Uganda on Wednesday, Raisi sharply criticized Western nations’ support for homosexuality and LGBTQ+ rights, calling it “one of the dirtiest things.” He said Uganda’s recently-passed anti-gay legislation and Western criticism of it was “another area of cooperation for Iran and Uganda.”
Zimbabwe also has anti-gay laws, and homosexuality and same-sex marriages are illegal.
However, Mnangagwa has not attacked homosexuality, unlike his predecessor, the late Mugabe, who described gays as “worse than dogs and pigs.”
The last visit by an Iranian leader to Zimbabwe was in 2010 by then-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
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