Yeah, the head of state leads delegations to secure imports of vital commodities like figs--or whatever Niger is known for:
The Iranian president then heads to Niger on Monday for a two-day visit, the government in Niamey said.
"He will lead a large delegation and both our nations will discuss cooperation and means of strengthening it," Iran's ambassador told reporters after a meeting with Niger's President Mahamadou Issoufou.
Mohammad Nikkhah said the visit would be a turning point in bilateral ties and would yield "excellent opportunities that will benefit both peoples".
He did not elaborate, but Niger is one of the world's top producers of uranium, which Iran has long been seeking to acquire for its controversial nuclear program.
For added fun, Niger has been complaining about the deal France gives them for uranium.
Does President Obama dare cite this if he eve needs to make the case against Iran? After all, the anti-war side made a big deal of the so-called lie of Saddam seeking uranium in Niger before the Iraq War.
I hope this is an opportunity to finally answer the question I've long wanted the answer to: just why did the CIA send the buffoon, Joe Wilson, to Niger to look into reports of Saddam's uranium shopping interests?
Oh, and let's do better this time, okay?
UPDATE: Niger is the fourth largest producer of uranium and Iran lacks domestic sources of quality uranium sufficient for a nuclear program. But surely those are irrelevant facts to judge the high profile visit of the Iranians to Niger.
Or perhaps this president-to-president meeting is all about livestock. Or cowpeas and onions.
UPDATE: Huh, this is quite the coincidence:
Iran may in the future need highly enriched uranium to power submarines and other vessels, a top nuclear official was quoted as saying on Tuesday.
The comments by Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation, are likely to stoke Western concerns about the nature of Iran's nuclear program, as uranium enriched beyond 20 percent fissile purity is a relatively short technical step from weapons-grade.
But I'm sure Saddam's reasons for looking to improve trade relations with Niger were way different. Purely goat-related, I'm sure.
