CARACAS – Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil Pinto says Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei’s memoirs chronicling his years in prison unveiled here Saturday will be used as a guidebook on how to combat the enemies.
In his talks with Iran’s Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Muhammad Mehdi Esmaeili, the minister touched on “Cell No. 14”, Ayatollah Khamenei’s autobiography, saying he was happy the book had been published in Venezuela.
Gil Pinto hailed Iran’s culture as rich, saying the world reveres it. He called for further bolstering of cultural relations between the two countries.
Esmaili also met with Venezuela’s Minister of Communication and Information and Vice-President for Culture and Tourism, Freddy Alfred Nazareth, saying cultural measures can preserve the identity of nations and neutralize foreign attacks.
He touched on the media onslaught which has intensified against Iran in recent months, saying it is part of a hybrid war on the Iranian nation.
The Venezuelan vice-president said the mental proximity of the two nations and their shared viewpoints about imperialism and Western media and cultural invasion provide for a suitable ground to broaden cultural cooperation.
The rich cultures and national identities and beliefs of the two countries have dismantled many strong plots of the enemies, Nazareth added.
“Cell No. 14” covers the first half of the life of Ayatollah Khamenei, from his early childhood all the way to the 1979 Islamic Revolution that brought the monarchical regime to an end in Iran.
The book contains illustrations depicting different stages in the life of Ayatollah Khamenei.
Venezuela hosted the International Fair of Venezuelan-Iranian Culture and Friendship which opened March 4 in Caracas which ran through Sunday.
It was organized by a Caracas-based group called the Center for Intercultural Exchange in Latin America, or CICL.