Lula discusses war and the Strait of Hormuz with the president of Iran; see review of meetings at COP31

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) had a meeting this Thursday (12) with the president of Iran, Masoud Pezeshkian.

The meeting took place in Antalya, Turkey, during the 31st United Nations Conference on Climate Change, COP31.

According to a statement released by Palácio do Planalto, the two leaders talked about conflicts in the Middle East, especially the war involving Iran and the United States.

President Pezeshkian presented Lula with an update on the peace negotiations with the United States, in particular the mediation efforts promoted by Qatar and Pakistan.

Lula took advantage of the conversation to defend free navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and expressed concern about the impact of the war on fuel prices and, consequently, food.

Lula took advantage of the subject to remember Brazil's role in negotiating the Tehran Declaration in 2010, one of the most notable foreign policy episodes of his second term.

In May of that year, Brazil acted as a mediator, alongside Turkey, in negotiations with Iran to try to resolve the international impasse over the Iranian nuclear program.

Despite having argued that the ideal would be to find a peaceful solution to the conflict, the president said that Iran has the right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy, as long as it is “for civil purposes”.

Lula's position to defend Iran's right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes had already been expressed during the 2010 negotiations.

The Planalto statement also reported that the leaders discussed the diversification and expansion of bilateral trade, which totaled US$3 billion in 2025.

President Lula indicated that Brazil is interested in expanding fertilizer imports from Iran.

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz also impacted the supply of sulfur, an essential raw material for the production of fertilizers and used by different sectors of the national industry.

Lula arrived in Türkiye on Tuesday (10) and, according to his schedule, will go to the Philippines on Friday (13). In total, the president had four bilateral meetings with other heads of state.

In addition to Iran, Lula met with the interim president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, on Wednesday (11), in the first face-to-face meeting between the two, who until then had only spoken by phone.

Delcy assumed the interim presidency of Venezuela on January 5, 2026, following the capture and removal of Nicolás Maduro from the country by the United States military.

Still on Wednesday, Lula had a meeting with the Prime Minister of Norway, Jonas Gahr Støre, who congratulated him on his re-election and indicated his willingness to continue working with Brazil on various issues, especially the environmental issue.

The Brazilian's first bilateral meeting was on Tuesday (10), with the president of Türkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

According to a note released by Planalto, Lula was also congratulated on his re-election and for the “expressive mobilization that took over the streets in Brazil”.

The two presidents expressed their determination to work to strengthen bilateral relations and celebrated one hundred years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two republics, which will be celebrated in 2027.