Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said he planned to visit Iran next month to prevent a "mistake" like the one that led to the invasion of Iraq, dpa reported.<\/p>\n
"I am going there because I do not want the mistake that was made in Iraq to be repeated in Iran," he said, in comments that the state news agency ABR reproduced Friday [26 Mar 2010].<\/p>\n
Lula, who is set to visit Tehran on May 15, made the comments late Thursday, before members of Brazil’s Arab community in Sao Paulo.<\/p>\n
Lula noted that the war against Iraq sprang from a "lie" that was spread by the "great powers." Western leaders said at the time that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, although these were never found.<\/p>\n
The Brazilian president said he intends to mediate between Iran and the countries that are suspicious of Iran’s nuclear programme, and he stressed he seeks a peaceful exit to the crisis.<\/p>\n
"I’m going there to tell (Iranian) President (Mahmoud) Ahmadinejad, in Tehran: ‘I am against you building nuclear weapons, but I am in favour of you enriching uranium like Brazil does, to produce nuclear energy,’" Lula said.<\/p>\n
He again spoke for letting Brazil play a role in negotiations in the Middle Eastern conflict, and he also called for a more active role from the United Nations (UN) on the issue.<\/p>\n