Iran accuses the United States of "
meddling
" in Cuba's internal affairs after unprecedented protests on the Caribbean island, ruled by the Communists and which has been the subject of US sanctions for decades.
Protests erupted spontaneously in several cities on Sunday, as Cuba goes through its worst economic crisis in 30 years, with chronic shortages of electricity, food and medicine.
Read also: Cuba: more than 100 people in detention
"
While the United States is primarily responsible for the many problems of the Cuban people, it is now expressing its support for the protests in Cuba,
" Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said in a statement Tuesday evening.
He accuses Washington, Tehran's sworn enemy, of "
seeking to interfere in the internal affairs of the country
".
Iran, also under American sanctions, "
expresses its solidarity with the people and the government of Cuba,
" he added.
One man died and more than 100 people, including independent journalists and opponents, were arrested in Cuba during the protests.
Some were still detained on Tuesday, according to activists and observers.
Havana, under US sanctions since 1962, blamed these demonstrations of discontent on Washington, which pursues a "
policy of economic strangulation to provoke social unrest
."
Since the Iranian revolution of 1979 which overthrew the pro-American regime of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Iran and Cuba have regularly supported each other diplomatically, with the Islamic Republic condemning the American embargo against the island and Havana defending the right of l Iran to civilian nuclear power.
/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/MTSQ4Y67KD7UYSQ2QOVVGGYB5I.jpg)
