US warns LatAm states over Iran ties.

The US has warned Latin American states against a further expansion of diplomatic and business ties with the Islamic Republic of Iran.

According to Press TV, US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said on Friday “We are making absolutely clear to countries around the world that now is not the time to be deepening ties, not security ties, not economic ties, with Iran.''

The US State Department statement comes ahead of Iranian President Ahmadinejad's planned visits to Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba and Ecuador next week.

Meanwhile, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen stated that the forthcoming Iranian president's tour of Latin America is proof of Tehran's expanding interest in the region.

She said in a statement “Ahmadinejad's desire to strengthen ties with anti-American rulers and expand Iranian influence in the Western Hemisphere directly threatens US security interests.”

She also pledged the Obama administration to hold hearings on the matter to discuss what Washington is doing to “counter Iranian outreach in the Western Hemisphere.”

This is while Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Friday criticized the United States for deliberately and recklessly raising tensions in the Persian Gulf.

President Ahmadinejad will kick off a four-nation trip to Latin America next week.