Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad both lashed out at the West Thursday night in Harare, Press TV reported.
The two leaders spoke during a state dinner to mark the first day of Ahmadinejad's two-day state visit at Mugabe's invitation, and the Iranian president was received with full honours including a 21-gun salute and a military flyover.
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change has protested Ahmadinejad's visit as an "insult to the peace-loving people of Zimbabwe and Iran."
Earlier, Mugabe met Ahmadinejad on arrival at Harare international airport. Tsvangirai, the elderly Mugabe's partner in a 14-month-old unity government, was noticeably absent.
Mugabe blasted the targeted sanctions that the United States and Europe have imposed on both governments: "Because of the principled position we have taken, Iran and Zimbabwe have been unjustly vilified and punished by Western countries."
Both countries were "the victims of illegal and unjustified sanctions imposed by Western countries who want to undermine our sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity," he said.
Zimbabwe supported Iran's right to pursue the peaceful use of nuclear energy, Mugabe said.
Ahmadinejad took aim at countries that "raise fears of injustices and corruption yet they are plundering the resources of other countries to expand their international domination." He described Mugabe's leadership style as "a lesson for all nations."
The two leaders signed a number of agreements on trade and tourism.
On Friday, Ahmadinejad is scheduled to open an international trade fair in the western city of Bulawayo.
Later Friday, he will continue his African tour in Uganda, where he is seeking support from President Yoweri Museveni's government against increased sanctions threatened by the United Nations Security Council, in which Uganda is currently a member.
In a statement Thursday, the MDC accused Ahmadinejad of being "a war monger, a trampler of human rights, an executioner of those with dissenting voices and a leader of questionable legitimacy" - a reference to his disputed re-election victory last year.
Some MDC members said that the Iranian election mirrored what the MDC suffered in a presidential runoff in 2008, when scores of its supporters were killed by Mugabe loyalists to avenge the MDC's victory in parliamentary elections.
Mugabe claimed victory in the second-round election, which he alone contested after Tsvangirai withdrew from the race to protest the violence. But African leaders refused to endorse Mugabe's win and coerced him into sharing power with Tsvangirai.
...