Vilified by world leaders wary of his nuclear ambitions, Iran's president is turning to South Americ

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was headed to Bolivia Thursday to establish first-time diplomatic relations with the Andean nation.

He and President Evo Morales were expected to sign accords that Bolivian officials say could help them better tap the continent's second-largest natural gas reserves after Venezuela's and drum up urgently needed agricultural investment.

Ahmadinejad is then Caracas-bound to meet Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez.

On the heels of a U.N. General Assembly appearance in which he exacerbated concerns about Iranian bellicosity, Ahmadinejad's trip south underscores his strengthening links to Latin American nations also including Nicaragua and Ecuador even as the United States tries to isolate him internationally.

"It's a connection that is growing stronger all the time," said Alberto Garrido, a Venezuelan writer and political analyst. "It's Iran's answer to the United States on its own home turf. The United States is in the Middle East, so Iran is in Latin America."

Energy experts doubt the new Bolivia-Iran alliance will let Morales deliver on his promise of using gas profits to ease grinding poverty in South America's poorest nation. But by opening diplomatic ties, Iran and Morales' "anti-imperialist" administration appear to be on the same political page.

The growing closeness between Iran and Chavez-allied governments is viewed with alarm by the opposition in Venezuela and Bolivia, and by Washington, which calls Iran a sponsor of terrorism.

The move reminds U.S. Rep. Connie Mack, a Florida Republican, "of the relationship that Fidel Castro had with Russia."

"Ahmadinejad recognizes that if he can get a foothold in Latin America, he can continue to spread his hatred for the United States," Mack said, adding that it is now imperative for Washington to reach out more to a region analysts say it largely ignored post 9-11.

"You don't want to have your enemy at your backdoor."

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