President Barack Obama enacted a law Friday, December 28 to counter Iran’s influence in Latin America, through a new diplomatic and political strategy to be designed by the State Department, Agence France Presse reported. The Countering Iran in the Western Hemisphere Act, passed by lawmakers earlier this year, calls for the State Department to develop a strategy within 180 days to “address Iran’s growing hostile presence and activity” in the region. The text also calls on the Department of Homeland Security to bolster surveillance at U.S. borders with Canada and Mexico to “prevent operatives from Iran, the IRGC (Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps), its Quds Force, Hizballah or any other terrorist organization from entering the United States.” Iran, placed under a series of international sanctions because of its nuclear program, has opened six new embassies in Latin America since 2005, developing particularly close ties with Bolivia, Ecuador and Venezuela.