Mexico-Iran Foreign Relations

Role of Mexican drug cartel in Iran's Qods Force Terrorist Plot in the U.S.

Nuclear:

Mexico has remained largely silent on the issue of Iran’s nuclear program, despite American and European concerns over the problem.  According to Mexican news sources, the Islamic Republic has also asked the government of Mexico for support in international forums in order to prevent the UN Security Council from imposing further sanctions on Iran’s nuclear enrichment program.  In February 2008, the Iranian Ambassador to Mexico Mohammad Hassan Ghadiri delivered an official note to the Mexican Foreign Relations Secretariat asking that Mexico “use its presence and influence in all international organizations in order to firmly defend the rights of the people of Iran.”[1]

Economic Relationship:

Mexico and Iran do not currently have extensive economic relations, however they have sought to develop their bilateral trade over recent years as both countries seek alternative markets.  Particularly since 2008 and the global economic downturn, Mexico has been more willing to find alternative markets that could help distance its economy from the United States.  Iran has simultaneously been reaching out to Mexican markets, pushing for an expansion of trade and diplomatic relations much as it has with several other Latin American countries in recent years.[2]

Annual trade between Iran and Mexico has not yet reached the level that some of Mexico’s neighbors enjoy with the Islamic Republic.  According to remarks made by Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Reza Salari during an official visit to Mexico City in February 2009, Iranian trade with Mexico was a mere $50 million, far below Iran’s $2 billion annual trade with Brazil.[3]  "We are here to investigate, why so low?" Salari told reporters. "With Mexico, there is absolutely no political problem between us. No cultural problems. It shows we have many shortcomings in our trade relations."

Salari continued to say that Iran sees opportunities to expand tourism and energy cooperation with Mexico, but has said that such efforts are still only in the planning stages.[4]  Mexican House of Representatives Speaker Ruth Sayala has called the two sides' cooperation “very important” and has said that Mexico is interested in learning from Iran's experience in the energy sector.[5] 

According to Mexican Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Lourdes Aranda, the Mexican government presented a bill to parliament that claimed that Mexico was willing to use Iranian experience to help increase energy efficiency. The two countries subsequently agreed to exchange energy experts.[6] Not long after in 2008, Mexico and Iran held a joint economic commission meeting in Tehran where they discussed increasing their bilateral economic cooperation.[7]

In late February 2009, Iran sent emissaries to Mexico City with a proposal to expand relations in the political, economic, and cultural arenas.[8] Immediately thereafter, Mexico’s Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs Maria de Lourdes Aranda met with Iran’s Deputy Minister for the Americas Ministry of Foreign Affairs Alireza Salari in order to bilaterally discuss several issues in regard to their goals of expansion.[9] Aranda and Salari exchanged views on the situation in the Middle East, the International Atomic Energy Agency and the international financial crisis, among other issues.[10]  

Diplomatic/Military Relationship:

Mexico has traditionally been an ally of the United States, however in recent years, growing economic relations with Iran have also paved the way for greater bilateral diplomatic relations between Tehran and Mexico City.[11] As Iran has cemented friendly relations with other Latin American countries such as Venezuela and Nicaragua, Tehran has also approached Mexico to build good political relations with America’s southern neighbor. [12]  In February 2009, Iran sent emissaries to Mexico with a proposal to expand relations in the “political, economic and cultural arenas” between the two countries.  Mexico’s Foreign Secretary Maria Lourdes Aranda Bezaury met with Tehran’s deputy foreign minister for the Americas, Ali Reza Salari. [13]  The meeting was the first official outreach to Mexico from Iran since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.[14]