Venezuela FM: Historic ties with Iran at their best juncture

Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza says his country’s historic relations with Iran are at their best possible juncture.

Arreaza made the remarks in a tweet after holding talks with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad-Javad Zarif via video-link.

“We reviewed our comprehensive bilateral cooperation agenda. We are in the best moment of our historic relationship,” the top Venezuelan diplomat said.

The talks, he noted, also examined “the geopolitical threats” that face the nations and constitute a menace to peace and multilateralism.

The Venezuelan Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, cited Arreaza as saying that Caracas had learnt from Tehran how to confront the US’s coercive measures.

The Venezuelan official also said the Islamic Republic had welcomed a proposal by President Nicolas Maduro for the world’s sanctioned countries to form a group, in which they would exchange their experiences about overcoming the bans.

Zarif and Arreaza's meeting also addressed Iran’s advances in the face of the new coronavirus spread. The officials pled with the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to have the world body intervene to end conflicts across the world amid the global pandemic.

The countries’ relations date back around 70 decades, and have been witnessing remarkable alignment under Venezuela’s former president Hugo Chavez and his successor, Maduro.

The gravitation has, in part, been caused by the countries’ stiff resistance against the United States’ unilateral and illegal policies towards their respective nations.

In response to the joint stance, Washington has been trying to almost entirely block the countries’ trade link with the outside world by bringing each under scores of sanctions.

Tehran and Caracas have signed momentous agreements in the areas of trade, energy, industrial, defensive, cultural, and educational cooperation to try and deflect the pressure.

On Monday, the first tanker of a three-vessel Iranian flotilla carrying much-needed fuel for Venezuela entered the waters of the South American country despite US sanctions.

First Iranian tanker carrying fuel enters waters of Venezuela in defiance of US sanctions

The Forest, the first tanker of a three-vessel Iranian flotilla carrying fuel for Venezuela, enters waters of the South American country.

According to Refinitiv Eikon vessel tracking data, the Iran-flagged tanker Forest, which is transporting some 270,000 barrels of fuel loaded in the Middle East, entered Venezuela’s exclusive economic zone at around 8:05 a.m. local time (1205 GMT) earlier in the day.

The Iranian vessels are expected to jointly deliver about 820,000 barrels of gasoline and other types of motor fuel to Venezuela.

Five Iranian vessels had made a previous fuel delivery to Venezuela between May and June. The previous flotilla also delivered the equipment that the Latin American country needed to prop up its gasoline industry, which had been hit hard by the American bans.

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