Iran is expanding its ties in Latin America with Venezuela and other states, a top U.S. military official said April 5 as he described developments the United States is watching with concern.

Gen. Douglas Fraser, the U.S. Southern Command head, said Iran has almost doubled the number of embassies it has in Latin America, from six in 2005 to ten in 2010. He explained that Tehran is also building cultural centers in 17 countries throughout the region.

“There are flights between Iran and Venezuela on a weekly basis, and visas are not required for entrance into Venezuela or Bolivia or Nicaragua. So we don’t have a lot of visibility in who’s visiting and who isn’t, and that’s really where I see the concerns,” Fraser said.

“I don’t have connections with those organizations that Iran has supported in other parts of the world, Hezbollah. But we’re still skeptical and watching that on a routine basis,” he continued.

In another sign of Iran’s warming ties with Latin America, Tehran hosted heads of state from three of the region’s nations—Bolivia, Guyana and Venezuela, last year.

“Iran continues expanding regional ties to support its own diplomatic goal of reducing the impact of international sanctions connected with its nuclear program,” Fraser said.

Fraser went on to describe the warming relationship between Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez, who have had at least nine meetings during Chavez’s 12 years in office. Both leaders have often denounced American “imperialism” and called for a “new world order” free of U.S. leadership.

Fraser said the relationship between Iran and Venezuela is founded on shared interests, such as access to military technologies and a mutual desire to avoid international isolation. Fraser also said there were “growing opportunities for military-to-military connections” between the two nations.

Fraser pointed out that U.S. concerns are compounded by evidence that Venezuela has purchased $15 billion worth of weapons, mostly coming from Russia, China and Spain.

Iran’s strengthening ties with Venezuela and other Latin American countries are being built on a staunch anti-American footing: All parties consider the United States an enemy and are angling to bring it down. We can expect Iran and these Latin American nations to team up to counter American interests, in both the Middle East and South America.