A split-screen view of what’s coming Friday illustrates perfectly America’s weakness in its own hemisphere: On one side will be President Biden, lavishly hosting the Brazilian president, Lula da Silva, at the White House; on the other there will be Iranian warships, sailing with Brazil’s blessing toward the Panama Canal for the purpose of poking America in the eye. 

To help realize President Theodore Roosvelet’s vision of linking the Atlantic to the Pacific, America at the start of the 20th century midwifed the birth of an independent country, Panama, which now receives more American investment than any other Central American country and enjoys huge trade benefits.

Yet, Panama now says it will allow the presence of two Iranian warships at the canal, as long as they obey “international norms.” An Iranian Mowj-class destroyer, Dena, and a logistics ship, Makran, are Panama-bound after docking for a week since January 23 at Rio de Janeiro, courtesy of the Brazilian navy. 

The two ships are under American sanctions, and entities that aid them could be sanctioned as well. We “have a number of tools in our toolbelt available to hold the Iranian regime accountable,” a state department spokesman, Vedant Patel, told reporters this week. “Anybody doing business with a sanctioned entity risks exposure to designation themselves.”

Yet, few Latin American watchers expect Mr. Biden and his Friday guest to discuss Brazil’s cooperation with the Iranian regime’s muscle-flexing on America’s doorstep. “Lula will avoid sensitive topics like this one,” an international relations professor at the Federal University of Sao Paulo, Regiane Nitsch Bressan, told the Sun.

Mr. da Silva is coming to America to cultivate relations with Washington. While Mr. Biden, therefore, has leverage, he wouldn’t like to “put a wrinkle on the relationship” with Brazil, a Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Latin and Iran watcher, Emanuele Ottolenghi, says. 

Mr. Biden invited the Brazilian president because he wants to show support for the left-leaning Lula’s electoral triumph over the Trump-like president, Jair Bolsonaro. Mr. Biden hailed the visit as promotion of Latin America’s democracy — despite Mr. da Silva’s fondness for the region’s dictators, as well as allegiance to Communist China, Russia, and other American foes.  

“Lula has always had a soft spot for Iran,” Mr. Ottolenghi tells the Sun. “He has a nonaligned mentality, and sees Iran as a commercial partner.” The Brazilian president, he added, is unconcerned that Iranian ships are in the region to “gain experience in deep water, establish relations, and, most importantly, poke America in the eye.” 

Tehran is far from shy about the goals of its tour de force. “Iran’s military might is increasing every day despite all the pressures against the Islamic Republic over the past 43 years,” an Iranian navy rear admiral, Hamzeh Ali Kaviani, said during a recent address in northern Iran, where he boasted about the flotilla’s Western Hemisphere tour. 

The two Iranian warships, part of the 86 flotilla, have been sailing around the world in an effort to put the Islamic Republic’s naval muscle on display. The 1,300-ton Dena is reportedly armed with anti-ship cruise missiles, naval cannons, and torpedoes. The Makran, a converted oil tanker, is the Iranian navy’s largest ship.

Relying on the President Carter-era 1977 treaty that transferred control of the canal to Panama, the Panama Canal Authority said this week that it would allow the two vessels to enter the canal. The treaty obligates Panama to keep the canal “safe and open for the peaceful transit,” the authority insisted, so it has an “obligation to allow the passage of any vessel that meets all these requirements.”

With help from Panama, the world’s largest ship re-flagging country, Iranian vessels have long evaded America’s ban on oil exports and other sanctions by sailing under the Panamanian flag.

America “should press Panama to choose between aiding a misogynistic and murderous regime or clearly aligning itself with the free world,” a former governor of Florida, Jeb Bush, wrote in the Washington Post. An organization he advises, United Against Nuclear Iran, presented Panama with evidence of 130 Iranian vessels of concern, but Panama de-flagged only 18 of them, according to Mr. Bush. 

Panama’s vessel registry pushed back, claiming it withdrew its flag from 136 Iranian-linked ships in the last four years. Yet, skeptics point to the presence of two sanctioned warships as an indication that Panama is deeply involved in abetting Iran’s sanction-busting schemes. 

Mr. Biden may look for better trade with Brazil, and is likely playing domestic politics by staging a photo-op with the slayer of Brazil’s MAGA clone. Yet, the president would do well to publicly air his unease about Mr. da Silva’s ties with America’s foes. Mentioning Iran’s muscle-flexing would be a good start.