“Iran Doesn’t Seek Nuclear Weaponry”, Says the Cuban Ambassador

A bilingual of Spanish and Arabic, the Cuban Ambassador finds Iran and Cuba sacrificial scapegoats of the West’s defaming propagandas; a stain on the reputation of the two states which can be rid of provided that they go for it hands joined. In an interview with AVA Diplomatic, Vladimir Gonzalez Quesada recognizes Iran’s nuclear rights as the N.P.T. membership of the country is of no question.

Exclusive Interview with “Vladimir González Quesada”, Cuban Ambassador in Tehran

Interview by Mohammadreza Nazari

Where else had you served before you were sent as ambassador to Iran?

Since 1995, I made my way to the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs as the expert of North African and the Middle Eastern affairs, and having started learning Arabic first in Iraq, I began developing my Arabic in Syria from 1996 to 1999. The outbreak of the Iran-Iraq war ended my 8-month presence in the country, and forced me to pursue my desire to learn Arabic elsewhere, hence in Syria.

Also, from 2000 to 2003, I served as the deputy to the Ambassador in Turkey, and from 2005 to 2010, as the deputy to the Ambassador in Egypt. For the last three years, I was the deputy of the department of North Africa and the Middle East of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and before coming to Iran, I was active at the Cuban embassy in Syria.

 Do other Cuban Ambassadors present in the region have a good command of Arabic too?

Well, I am not the only one who knows Arabic in the Ministry. Some other friends of mine active in the Middle East are also quite well familiar with Arabic, the regional circumstances, rituals and traditions. We mostly tend to be correctly informed and that is why we are here. Needless to say that Arabic is of a pretty much volatile nature, and my skills are still developing.

 Given the fact that you were in Syria for quite some time, did you see any sign of disagreement and tension there?

Not as much as we see at the moment, of course. Yet, I can tell you about the disagreements the Syrians had with other Arab states which stemmed from the Iran-Iraq war; there were problems over there, but not that huge and considerable. Now, the interference of the neighboring countries and the West has brought about a disastrous situation in Syria.

 Is Syria about to suffer dissolution? Will that really happen?

Considering the current situation, and due to the further pressure Iran will probably be under in the future, I guess so. On the surface, what seems to be the problem is the disagreement between the Shiite and pro-Assad people and the Sunnite, and other religions such as Christianity. They find religion as a cause to blame, which is not the truth of the matter. The truth is that the Shiite, the Sunnite and the Christians are strongly united in Syria; therefore, that cannot be a reason. In fact, what Syria is dealing with today is a mixture of a number of issues.

 How do you see the role of Saudi Arabia in Syria’s internal transitions?

My answer to this question is much more personal, and is by no means, related to the official stances of the Cuban government. I need to say that the pressure imposed by some Saudi Ministers and their support of the Syrian militant groups can even protract this crisis and cause it to drag on.

 Are you indirectly pointing to Bandar ibn-al-Sultan’s role in the Syrian crisis?

 I do not point to any in particular. The Cuban foreign policy is founded on the global norms; First and foremost, respecting the independence of any country; second, not interfering with the domestic issues of theirs; third, condemning any military assault to any internationally recognized states; and fourth, developing any sort of unity and collaboration with all countries. Cuba has its foreign policy shaped on these principals and firmly supports it.

If our allies such as Syria or Iran are attacked, we will stand for them and express our disagreement to the international community. Rest assured that all problems are better worked out through peace and negotiation. Take Iran’s nuclear case, for example. We supported the Islamic Republic of Iran, and we do the same about Syria. The Cuban government takes the proper supportive measures to settle the Syrian crisis as soon as possible.

 Why are the American sanctions against Cuba not lifted yet, while Cuba has taken up peace-seeking policies?

The United States is a super power. A super power which had many countries like Iran or Cuba sacrificed. Cuban revolution came to existence in 1959; and on January, 1, we celebrated its 55^th anniversary. This revolution meant to drive the United States out of Cuba. The U.S. ruled the country in the form of modern exploitation and the revolution put an end to its reign. In fact, Cuba witnessed two types of exploitation; first by Spain, and second by the U.S. the Cuban revolution disappointed and expelled the U.S.

If you take a close look at the geographic position of Cuba, you will understand the strategic importance of it. As in our sayings, “Cuba is the key to the Mexican Gulf”. After 55 years, the U.S. must have realized it has not right to claim in Cuba. Since the very beginning, the U.S. caused a lot of violations and put much pressure on Cuba. Another aspect is the economic-financial-commercial sanctions against our country. Not only is Cuba sanctioned, but its allies also suffer the same misfortune, which has burdened Cuba with lots of unnecessary losses.

The support of the Cuban opposition is also instigated by the U.S.; this approach has been practiced in all terms of presidency in the U.S. During George W. Bush’s time in office, an awful lot of violent and intolerable policies were imposed on Cuba. However, since the election of Obama, the violence has decreased, but the pressures are still on an ascending trend. You may know that every year, Cuba delivers a resolution regarding the economic-financial-commercial sanctions to the U.N., which fortunately enough, gain mass global support each year.

On October, 2013, to lift the sanctions against Cuba, we delivered another resolution to the U.N. which received 188 votes for it, including Iran’s, and only three countries voted against it, namely the U.S., Israel, and Marshall Islands.

During these times, what Cuba has undergone as losses is equal to a sum of two thousand million dollars. Yet, we stand still though problems have been out of number.

 Raul Castro has met the American congressmen and lobbied with them. How effective has this approach of Cuban authorities been in lessening the number of sanctions?

 Well, this is not the first time Cuba seeks to negotiate with the U.S. Perhaps, it is the twentieth or the fortieth time that Cuba has stated its tendency to sit at the negotiating tables with the U.S. The only thing that has to remain intact is Cuba’s government and independence. As long as these factors are guaranteed, we are willing to attend any kind of negotiation. This approach is not solely resorted to in Raul Castro’s stint; at the time of Fidel Castro’s presidency, Cuba took that, as well.

Despite the cruelty and violence from the U.S., Cuba has always been ready to negotiate. Of course, many fundamental aspects have been discussed, one of which is the Cuban immigrants in the U.S. We sought to legitimize the immigrations. Another topic was the postal issues related to the immigrants and their families in Cuba. Cultural exchange has also been discussed between the two countries. It would be of interest to you that a ship just entered Cuba whose passengers are all North American students; they were on a trip around the world and chose Cuba as their final destination.

The last time the foreign people came to Cuba, as a sign of good will about the country, Fidel Castro welcomed them in person and invited them over to his house to cherish their visit. Since Obama’s taking the office, this ship was the first to come to Cuba in the hope of suspending the sanctions. The reason why I said all these was to show that although lots of cruelty, pressure and violence have always been imposed on Cuba, the country is always willing to start the negotiations.

The media claim that the U.S. requires the rapid implementation of reforms in Cuba, whereas Raul has a moderate pace of reformation. Is that true?

The U.S. wants to change Cuba to whichever way it prefers. Fortunately, of course, the parliament election is held every two and a half years, and the congress election happens every five years.

The U.S. wants us to free all the political prisoners, while we see that the U.S. spends millions of dollars on terrorist groups to form against Cuba. That is why there exists no political tie between us and the U.S. We do not have an embassy in the U.S., but there is this office, named the office of mutual interests with branches in Washington and Havana. This office was first established in the U.S. during Carter’s presidency, when the countries were on their most flexible mutual terms. Instead of observing the office and its function, the U.S. invests largely in advocating terrorist groups against us. I have one question for you: Does Iran allow the United States to make reforms inside Iran?

 No country does allow that…

And we see that in Iran’s nuclear negotiations pretty clearly. In the past ten years, the financial restraints were heavily imposed on Iran, everything changed, and there came up the military option. We all know Iran is an N.P.T. member and not seeking any nuclear weaponry. To have access to nuclear energy is an absolute right for Iran. Now, I want to link this to the Cuba-US relations. Given its independence and territorial totality, Cuba is ready to sit for negotiations with the U.S. with nothing being imposed on it.

 Raul ran his presidency campaign promising political reformations and further social freedom. What level is the reform trend at in Cuba now?

Sometimes, the media reflects the reforms in Cuba just upside down. Cuba is now working on its social and economic models to update their status. You do remember definitely that Cuba was on good terms with the Socialist Camp and the former Soviet Union. In fact, we developed a particular economic model back when we had close ties with the Soviet Union. It happened with the aim of fighting the U.S. financial-commercial sanctions. But now, everything has changed and the socialists and the Soviet Union are all gone.

Of course, we know there were mistakes and violations in Cuba, so we embarked on reformations. Today bears no resemblance to the time when Cuba played the role of a Soviet representative to distribute their products in the region. The truth is that we keep our relations protected with other countries.

Anyway, the falling of the Soviet Union shattered Cuba’s politics and economy into pieces. 85% of all imports to Cuba were from the Soviet Union. I have to mention that Cuba is geographically similar to an island, hence it has not border with other states. We do not even have Iran’s reserves. That is why we went through a rough time making our livings. Pardon me for making such a comparison, but despite the fact that Iran is now under sanctions, it is possible to negotiate with some countries to provide for your people, or in a more general term, you finally find a way to get your necessary goods. But Cuba lost 85% of its import right when it was sanction hit.

This emergency period of time went on from 1990 to 1996. Economic pressures increased in a way that we did not even have access to our basic and primary needs such as food, medicine or even influenza vaccines. Then, the government of Cuba took some measures to boost the Cubans’ income to improve their conditions.

Before that, all of our needs, specialties, factories, products, tools and spare parts were met and imported from the Soviet Union and the Socialist Camp. But we cut down on our imports over time. This was a reason why Cuba turned to be a tourism center. This could also have negative effects. But to have flourishing tourism in the country, Cuba hosted some private sectors to absorb investments and tourism services in the country.

 As you well know, Brazil is hosting the World Cup this year and has managed to maintain its infrastructures by attracting sport tourists and huge amounts of investments. Why did Cuba not follow and implement this Brazilian model?

I suppose every country has its own strategy. We stuck to our own. We had to open the gates of other countries to the tourists; the situation of our country behooved us to do so. Now, an average of 2 million tourists annually visit Cuba. Of course, Cuba does not possess as much potentials in tourism as Brazil does. Perhaps Brazil can host a number of 40 to 50 million tourists each year. Given the then circumstances, we had to make breakthroughs and bring foreign investors; furthermore, the government made different developments in the field of education and health services, which were all financially demanding. At that time, the government had to maintain the social classes at an even level. That tourists came to the country and could ensure us about its benefits had its own cons to which we had to come up with a solution. When they were coming, they would bring money which would afterwards enter the country’s financial flow. There was a big difference of value between dollar and our currency. Hence, those who earned money in dollar could improve their living conditions and meet a standard. Back then, there was cell phone and its cost was paid with foreign currency. So, not all people were able to use this technology. Raul sought to establish a type of balance between different social classes to lower the probability of class struggle caused by the tourism. These conditions resulted in public access to cell phones; however, what is depicted of Cuban people on screens is their recent access to such a thing. Another point is that now, Cubans can sell their houses which was impossible in the past.

 Why could people not buy and sell houses in Cuba?

Then, the number of houses were no match to the population, and if it had rained or stormed, those limited houses would have gone to ruins with no possibility of reparation. The government was not able to invest in mass dwellings. Now, people can sell houses of good constructional conditions and states of repair. This was also true about our car trades. No one was allowed to sell their cars and it could be only passed from a family member to another. A majority of Cuban cars belong to the time of the Socialists Camp. Today, we can see the import of cars from South Korea and some other countries has been authorized and that is why the trade law is constituted.

 Considering the suspension of sanctions against Iran, how do you see the relations between the two countries?

I am totally positive about it. Both countries are increasing their powers. We attempt to thwart the effects of sanctions. Iran is also trying to proceed with its negotiations with the West in a good way. The Cuban government well recognizes Iran’s negotiations, and that is what Rouhani aimed for. We hope that the principle policies will be emphasized by Iran, too.

Let me tell you a point about Iran. In my opinion, the image we and the international media have of Iran is catastrophic. It shows that as a result of sanctions, the living conditions are pretty rough in Iran and its laws are extremely violent and severe. This is what I thought of Iran as a regional expert. But when I came here, I saw a whole different country. I first had a three-day meeting with the deputy of Iran’s foreign minister on April. I am glad that I am lucky enough to stay longer in Iran.

When I entered Iran as the Cuban Ambassador, I saw a different state. Even under the sanctions, Iran is still a powerful country. High military, medical and productive potentials are note-worthy in every aspect. Iran is a place of happiness and freedom.

As a matter of fact, there exist negative ways of advertising against both countries and that is what Iran and Cuba suffer from. For instance, you may read on the news that for the first time ever, a citizen has bought a cell phone in Cuba. I only hope that you can pay a visit to Cuba and see how happy and free the people are which is totally in contrast with what the North American media is spreading everywhere.

Have you ever seen the Cubans go on a protest and the police hit them with their battens? But you can see it happening in the U.K., France and Spain; those who talk of democracy.

 How can we show the real image of Cuba to the world?

We are trying to do such a task to have the two nations get to know the truths about each other. An embassy is tasked with offering authentic knowledge for both sides. Maybe what we do seems too little when compared with that of major news agencies. But I guess we can nail down to our objectives little by little. Holding photography, music and theatrical arts exhibitions seems to be a fair example.

I want to focus on an aspect of the negative impact of the media advertisements against both countries, particularly because of December 10, which is the global day of international law. Usually, on this day, our enemies claim that the human rights are not observed in Cuba. These sections and groups are supported by the U.S. to oppose the Cuban government. What they claim is exactly the opposite of what really happens in Cuba, because people’s rights are observed there.

The other thing is about the four Cuban heroes who are imprisoned in the United States accused of spying, whereas the Cubans are not spies. Those were undercover agents among the anti-governmental groups planning to execute an assault, and their duty was to inform us of their activities as to enable us to take pre-emptive measures.

 Considering the economic potentials between the two countries, which areas should be primarily focused on in Iran-Cuba trades?

At the moment, the economic exchanges are not considerable between the two states, and the sanctions against Cuba and Iran are the culprit to it. Of course, both countries are striving to expand the economic ties. Iran can provide Cuba with its support in the field of fishery which seems to possess a great potential.

I need to emphasize that both countries should be mutually and bilaterally profited from the economic trades. In 1990, Cuba decided to sell its technology, and the selling of the Hepatitis type B vaccine to Iran is an example of the kind. Currently, there is an agreement signed between Iran’s Pastor Institute and Cuba’s Biotechnological establishment for genetics. Iran has managed to provide some necessary vaccines and medicine for itself through the technological transmissions. Fortunately, I had the chance to visit a section of Pastor Institute and was very glad to see this collaboration had finally paid off. Luckily, many Iranian scientists have traveled to Cuba and received trainings. I do hope that the scientific collaboration between the two countries continues to an unlimited future.