WASHINGTON, DC — Iran has “converted and radicalized thousands of Latin Americans” throughout the years by dispatching imams to the region and establishing mosques and “cultural centers” that Hezbollah used as recruiting tools, an expert on the Islamic Republic indicated while testifying before a House panel.
On Tuesday, Emanuele Ottolenghi of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) think tank told a House panel via written testimony:
Since its establishment, the Islamic Republic of Iran has viewed Latin America as a fertile ground for the export of its revolution. Tehran wants the Western Hemisphere to become a hotbed of anti-Americanism and a forward operating base for Iran.To this end, over nearly four decades, Tehran has built a network of mosques and cultural centers across the region. It aggressively expanded its base of supporters and sympathizers by dispatching itinerant preachers, who have successfully converted and radicalized thousands of Latin Americans to Iran’s version of Shi’a Islam.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, recently revealed that the number of Iranian “cultural centers” have proliferated in recent years, nearly tripling from 36 in 2012 to “more than 100” today.
The U.S. military believes Hezbollah and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) are using the centers to recruit locals.
While testifying alongside former intelligence and White House officials before the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism Tuesday, Ottolenghi went on to note that Iran has helped Lebanese ally Hezbollah to establish a “dominant” footprint in Latin America. READ MORE
