Bolsonaro Backs President Trump on Iran

You’ve probably noticed that only “deplorable” foreign leaders (such as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán) have expressed public support for Donald Trump’s lethal action against Iranian General Qasem Soleimani. President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil is one of those Deplorables.

The following video shows Mr. Bolsonaro’s remarks on the issue of Iran. José Atento of Lei Islâmica em Ação, who translated the video for subtitles, sends these contextual notes:

Two interesting reactions coming from Brazil regarding the “events in Iraq.”

First, the official communiqué from Foreign Minister Ernesto Araújo with Brazil’s official stance on the “events in Iraq and the fight against terrorism.” The first paragraph of the note already sets the tone:

“Upon learning of the actions taken by the United States in recent days in Iraq, the Brazilian Government expresses its support for the fight against the scourge of terrorism and reiterates that this fight requires the cooperation of the entire international community without seeking any justification for or relativization of terrorism.”

Today [January 8] Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro made a short statement after watching the TV statement by President Trump. In it, Bolsonaro criticizes former (Socialist) President Lula, who advocated for Iran’s enrichment of uranium, stressing that Brazil’s constitution establishes a principle that Brazil must follow in international relations: “the defense of peace and repudiation of terrorism.”

Many thanks to Vlad Tepes for the subtitling:

Video transcript:

00:00   It is very drastic to think that Brazil should exclude itself
00:05   regarding the events.
00:10   I would like to say just one thing.
00:15   Mr. Luis Inácio Lula da Silva, while president of Brazil,
00:19   visited Iran.
00:22   He defended the idea that the regime could enrich uranium above 20%,
00:27   which would be for peaceful purposes.
00:33   I would complement that with just one issue.
00:39   We must follow our laws.
00:42   We cannot extrapolate.
00:45   I believe the truth must be part of our lives.
00:52   We want peace in the world. I repeat.
00:56   Mr. Lula, while president, was in Iran,
01:00   where he defended, at that time, under Ahmadinejad,
01:04   the idea that Iran could enrich uranium above 20%,
01:08   which was for peaceful purposes.
01:11   Our Constitution says in its Article 4:
01:15   “The Federal Republic of Brazil behaves in its international relations
01:21   according to the following principles:
01:24   the defense of peace and the repudiation of terrorism.”
01:34   Good afternoon everyone, and God bless our Brazil.
 

2 thoughts on “Bolsonaro Backs President Trump on Iran

  1. Strangely, this voice does not sound much like I would expect Portuguese to sound like. It sounds a lot like Russian. I don’t know why.

  2. I’m with Matt Gaetz. President Trump was probably correct in assassinating Solemeini, but now Congress has to declare war in order to keep US troops in a situation where they are likely to engage in hostilities.

Comments are closed.