Raisi in Africa: Iran is looking for ways out of isolation

For months, the Iranian President has been traveling around the world to break the isolation of his country. Now he was in Africa.

IRanish flags, anti-Western songs and a car called “Rhino”: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was welcomed with open arms in Kenya, Uganda and Zimbabwe this week. His predecessor Hassan Rouhani had not visited the African continent once in his ten-year tenure. Raisi, on the other hand, raved about the “continent of opportunities and natural resources” after his return on Friday.

He spoke of a “new beginning” and took the opportunity to distance himself from the foreign policy of his more moderate predecessor: “Unfortunately, this relationship has been ignored in recent years.” The Iranian President has noticeably intensified his travel diplomacy for six months. He visited China, Indonesia, Latin America. All of this serves one goal: to reduce his country’s diplomatic and economic isolation.