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B’nai B’rith International President Gary P. Saltzman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin have issued the following statement:
 
B’nai B’rith International expresses deep concern regarding the visit of Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to Latin America this week.
 
Zarif was received by Brazilian President Michel Temer, Uruguayan President Tabaré Vázquez and foreign ministries under the guise of being a “business delegation.” This visit afforded the government of Iran a high profile platform and cover to condemn Israel abroad.
 
Yesterday in Brazil, Zarif issued a statement against Israel and its operations in Syria, clearly going beyond the scope of a “business” visit.
 
We question why Temer and Vázquez are hosting the foreign minister of a country which is a real-time, well-documented serial abuser of human rights, denier of the Holocaust and a major supporter of terror around the world.