Brasilia, April 3 – Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said on Thursday that he could not predict when the US and Israeli strikes against Iran might end, but vowed to protect Brazilians from the economic impact of the conflict.
In an interview with local television station Record Bahia, Lula da Silva emphasized the uncertainty surrounding the duration of the conflict.
"The war continues… The only concrete thing I can offer is that we are making every possible effort to prevent the irresponsible war on Iran from affecting people's finances," Lula da Silva said.
"We will not allow the international price increase to affect the truck drivers' finances, or the finances of ordinary people. That is why we are taking many measures. We have a very serious oversight process underway in Brazil," he added.
The president warned against speculation in the domestic fuel market and announced tighter controls to prevent price gouging, saying that security forces are involved in monitoring efforts to detect potential irregularities in the distribution chain.
According to him, his government has also taken tax exemption and subsidy measures to contain fuel price increases in the domestic market, Xinhua news agency reported.
Earlier on April 1, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva had said that the United States has fabricated a lie as a pretext to launch an 'unnecessary war' against Iran.
"The United States got involved in an unnecessary war in Iran, claiming that Iran had nuclear weapons or that they were trying to make nuclear weapons. That's a lie!" Lula had said during an interview in Brazil's northeastern state of Ceara.
He said the United States has repeatedly waged wars based on lies, citing Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction that were never found.
"That's just a pretext... and war has never solved anything," Lula had said.
