Iran and other countries I can't visit on my U.S. passport

Here's a byline I didn't anticipate seeing at the Tehran Times: Fidel Castro.
The newspaper prints Castro's resignation statement as though he were an opinion columnist, and never identifies him as the dictator/president/head cheese in Cuba. It is interesting to see how keenly Iran follows political movements of other countries they see as being anti American, keeping close tabs on these future potential allies?