Tehran to Continue Friendly Ties with Caracas Regardless of US Bullying

“Iran and Venezuela hold longstanding relations,” Mousavi said on Monday adding, “Such normal and official ties are not against the interests of any country.”

The United States and a few other countries are against such amicable ties, but it does not concern them, he said.

“Tehran and Caracas are intent to continue their cooperation on different levels,” the spokesman noted.

He also said that talks are underway to hold a joint session between the two countries’ officials in a bid to expand bilateral economic ties.

Iran on Thursday June 25, blasted the US sanctions against the captains of five Iranian oil tankers which carried fuel to Venezuela, stressing that such embargoes prove the failure of the Trump administration's maximum pressure policy.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday announced sanctions on five Iranian ship captains who delivered oil to the fuel-starving Venezuela.

In response on Thursday, Seyed Abbas Mousavi described the fresh bans as another “desperate” move by the US against Iranian individuals, and a sign of the miserable failure of the Trump administration’s so-called “maximum pressure”.

“Despite US pressure, Iran and Venezuela remain steadfast in countering unlawful American sanctions,” he said.

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza also described the new sanctions as “an outburst of arrogance” and “more evidence of the Trump hawks’ hatred of all Venezuelans”.

The sixth Iranian ship loaded with food and medical supplies anchored at the port of La Guayra in Venezuela to help the Latin American country in fighting coronavirus epidemic despite the US opposition and threats.

Golsan ship, which had left Iran over a month ago, arrived in Venezuela earlier this week.

Earlier it was reported Iranian-flagged Golsan cargo ship left Bandar Abbas in mid-May and now is in Venezuela's territorial waters.

Iranian cargo ship Golesan is carrying food and medical supplies to combat coronavirus pandemic, Iran's Ambassador to Caracas Hojjat Soltani wrote on his Twitter page on Sunday.

Recently, Iranian oil tankers docked at Venezuela's port after passing the Caribbean Sea to help the friendly nation of Venezuela deal with shortage of fuel caused by the US sanctions against the country.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro thanked Iranian support, stressing that Caracas and Tehran are both after peace, and have right to do free trade.

Earlier in the month, five Iranian oil tankers carrying millions of barrels of gasoline and components entered the ports of the fuel-starved South American country and are now on their way back to Iran.

Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani noted that the return of his country’s fuel tankers from Venezuela, and said the fools who were after besieging Tehran now feel overpowered by Tehran.

“Iranian tankers, having accomplished their mission successfully, are coming back to the country. This means that the strategy of active resistance has been efficient and the idiots who were seeking to lay siege on us, have now been trapped in the siege stemming from Iran’s might,” Shamkhani wrote in his Twitter account.

“Trump and Hook's begging for negotiation testifies to this very claim,” the top security official said.

Iran’s fuel supply to Venezuela has sharply irked the US as the oil sectors of both countries are subject to draconian American sanctions.

A US official said last month that President Donald Trump’s administration was considering responses, prompting Tehran to warn of retaliatory measures if Washington causes any problem for the tankers.

In response, President Rouhani said his country is always entitled to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity, and warned that if his country's oil tankers in the Caribbean or anywhere in the world get into trouble by the Americans, Tehran will definitely retaliate.

“Although some of the US measures have created unacceptable conditions in different parts of the world, we will not be the initiator of tension and clash,” Rouhani said in a phone call with the Qatari Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani last month.

Referring to the American moves in the Caribbean, he reiterated, “If our oil tankers face problems in the Caribbean Sea or anywhere in the world by the Americans, they will face problems reciprocally.”