TEHRAN — In a visit to Tehran last week, Bolivia's Defense Minister Edmundo Novillo Aguilar clinched a deal with his Iranian counterpart that is expected to include the delivery of Iran-made drones to La Paz.
At a joint press briefing in Tehran, Iran's Defense Minister Mohammad Reza Ashtiani expressed Tehran's readiness to provide the Bolivian military with "the equipment it needed to combat drug trafficking and secure its borders." Such cooperation, the Iranian brigadier general said, "could serve as a model to our friends in South America," according to a report by the state-run Fars News.
Upon his return to La Paz, the Bolivian defense minister spoke of his government's interest in receiving Iranian drones. While details as to what types of Iranian drones are to be shipped remain murky, the Tehran agreement has already drawn concern from the United States.
"We urge all nations … to carefully consider before they enter into defense arrangements with a nation like Iran," said John Kirby, director of strategic communications for the US National Security Council, in an interview with Voice of America.
