Chavez backs Iran

VENEZUELA: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez backed his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Wednesday in rejecting a fourth round of UN sanctions on the Islamic republic as a futile exercise.

"Well said, man. Not worth a penny," said Chavez, a long-time US critic and one of Iran's main allies in South America. He has strengthened his ties with Tehran in recent years.

World powers earlier slapped new military and financial sanctions on Iran aiming to rein in its suspect nuclear program, through a US-drafted resolution adopted by 12 votes in favor in the 15-member UN Security Council, with Brazil and Turkey voting against and Lebanon abstaining. Caracas, AFP