Understanding Iran’s Influence Operations in Latin America | Emanuele Ottolenghi on BWP EP. 22

On October 7, the Iran-sponsored terrorist group Hamas unleashed an unprecedented, brutal terrorist attack against Israel, sneaking across its border and killing and kidnapping Israelis, Americans, and other citizens. This attack has escalated tensions between Iran and the West to the brink of another war in the Middle East. But this war will have spillover effects worldwide, especially in Latin America.

For Episode 22 of the Border Wars Podcast, we sit down with Emanuele Ottolenghi, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a researcher who has been examining Iran’s proxy networks from the Middle East to Europe to Latin America. We discuss Latin America’s transformations after the Cold War and how Iran has capitalized on this to insert itself into the culture, academia, and politics of the region. We also talk about Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and how the IRGC has a growing network of terrorists, military procurement, and intelligence operatives in Latin America.

To learn more about Emanuele Ottolenghi click here: https://www.fdd.org/team/emanuele-ottolenghi/

To follow Emanuele Ottolenghi on Twitter (@eottolenghi): https://twitter.com/eottolenghi

READ this relevant article by Emanuele Ottolenghi on Iran’s “Mystery Cargo” in Argentina published on July 6, 2022, in The Dispatch: https://thedispatch.com/article/mystery-cargo/

READ this relevant article by Emanuele Ottolenghi on “Soleimani University” in Venezuela published on February 23, 2022, in Tablet Magazine: https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/soleimani-u

#Iran #Hezbollah #LatinAmerica

🔴Timestamps:
00:00 – Intro
03:31 – From Israel to Brussels, Understanding Iran as a Global Threat
07:54 – Iran’s Sanctions Evasion Schemes in Europe
12:10 – Moving to Washington DC, Starting to Examine Iran’s Presence in Latin America
14:44 – Understanding the Nuances of Latin America
18:40 – “I did not expect the presence of Iran and Hezbollah to be as extensive as it is in Latin America”
19:18 – Deceiving the “Gringo” is Part of the Challenge in Latin America
24:17 – Latin America Has Serious Structural Challenges Namely Because of Organized Crime
27:42 – Iran Picked Up in Latin America Where the Soviet Union Left Off
29:13 – Iran Understands That Latin America Was in Search of an Identity After the Cold War
32:41 – “The Communists Lacked Faith” – the Transformation of a Marxist to an Islamist
37:01 – In Culture, Academia, and Politics: Iranian “Anti-Imperialist” Outreach to Latin America
39:00 – Qods Force General Qassem Soleimani as an Islamic Che Guevara
42:17 – Iran Building an Elite Vanguard in Latin America
43:36 – The Rabbani Network: Indoctrination, Recruitment, and Radicalization of Latin America
49:32 – Iranian Revolutionary Guards Pilots Flying to Argentina and Latin America
59:00 – Sanctions Enforcement: Argentina Grounding of Iran-Venezuela Cargo Plane
1:03:58 – Iran’s Military Procurement Networks in Venezuela and Latin America
1:09:50 – Iran’s Defense Agreement with Bolivia