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Just weeks on he heels of  during which he pledged to become Brazil’s best customer for its offshore oil and gas business, Brazil and Iran have taken steps for closer trade ties.

This is not a huge surprise, since the Brazilian oil giant, Petrobas, which counts Obama friend George Soros among its major shareholders, has doggedly refused to close its offices in Tehran, despite Iran’s support for terrorism and its nuclear enrichment program.

This sure makes one wonder why the US would pledge to so obsequiously support a nation with close economic ties to what is clearly an enemy of the United States. After all, Iran trained and armed the insurgents in Iraq and now trains and arms the Taliban in Afghanistan. Iran is the chief sponsor of Hezbollah, and also sponsors HAMAS and Al Qaeda.

More on the Iran-Brazil trade center from the Tehran Times…

The Iran-Brazil Friendship Association has announced that the Islamic Republic plans to open a trade center in the Brazilian capital Brasilia.

Director of the association, Mirqasem Mo’meni, told Fars News Agency on Saturday that the center would further promote trade cooperation between the two countries.

He added that considering the growing level of bilateral trade transactions, setting up the center would facilitate expanded trade between Iranian and Brazilian businessmen.

Mo’meni also stated that the project to set up the trade center will begin in late July.

In February, Brazilian Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota announced that Brazil will maintain its ties with Iran under new President Dilma Rousseff, continuing the cordial relationship expanded under former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Iran and Brazil enjoyed close and friendly ties under President Lula, and Patriota noted that the new government would maintain the same level of ties with Iran, saying, “Rousseff will stay on the paths of her predecessor and mentor Lula da Silva.”

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has expanded Tehran’s cooperation with many Latin American states, including Brazil and Venezuela, since he took office in 2005.

The International Monetary Fund announced in a report in December 2009 that Brazil is the largest trade partner of the Islamic Republic in Latin America.