Venezuela's Chavez to visit Iran: report

TEHRAN, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- Venezuelan Ambassador to Tehran David Velasquez Caraballo said on Tuesday that President Hugo Chavez is to visit Tehran soon, the official IRNA news agency reported.

Chavez will make a two-day visit to Tehran in the first week of September, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.

Referring to the U.S. plots against Venezuela and its South American allies, Caraballo said "the United States does not want South American states to lean towards the East," said Fars.

"We want peace but we are fully prepared to confront potential attacks in a bid to prevent developments like U.S.-Colombia military agreement," Fars quoted Caraballo as saying.

Chavez and his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have both described themselves as opponents to the U.S. imperialism on the world stage.

The Venezuelan president has developed strong ties with the government of Iran, in particular in energy production, economic, and industrial cooperation. He has visited Iran several times since Ahmadinejad took office in 2005.

According to Caraballo, President Chavez will also make a tour to Russia, Libya and Syria.