Iranian leader says Cuba and Iran think alike

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Thursday both Cuba-Iranian relations and Fidel Castro were in good shape after he met with the former Cuban leader and his younger brother President Raul Castro during a one-day visit to the communist island.
He said the two countries, similarly at odds with the United States though half a world apart, were closely aligned on many issues and would continue to fight "to demand the rights of the peoples." "Our positions, versions, interpretations are alike, very close. We have been good friends, we are and will be, and we will be together forever. Long live Cuba," Ahmadinejad said through an interpreter at the Havana airport as he departed for Ecuador, the final stop in his Latin American tour.
Such shows of solidarity were the main purpose of Ahmadinejad's trip to four leftist-led countries as Iran seeks support amid rising international opposition to its nuclear activities. He visited Venezuela and Nicaragua before coming to Cuba on Wednesday.The leader of the Islamic Republic said he discussed many different issues in a meeting with Fidel Castro, 85 and mostly retired, and that he was happy "to see commandante Fidel safe and sound." A recent flurry of rumours on social media claimed that Castro had died.
"We see that he follows all the national and international affairs in detail and with much pleasure," he said President Raul Castro told reporters his brother had met with Ahmadinejad for two hours and did most of the talking. The meeting was held on Wednesday.
"It shows that he is very well, really very well," said the younger Castro, who succeeded his brother as president four years ago and is himself 80. About his own talks with Ahmadinejad, Castro said, "It was a good visit, we discussed quite a lot, we analysed quite a lot, we finished very late." Ahmadinejad let government officials back in Tehran do the talking about the incident while he stuck to a relatively non-controversial script in Havana. In a speech at the University of Havana, he said Iran had done nothing to make enemies, denounced capitalism and called for a new world order based on justice and respect for all.