Venezuela welcomes five Iranian ships with gasoline "close to arrival"

The economic vice-president of Venezuela, Tareck el Aissami, welcomed this Saturday five Iranian ships that bring gasoline to the South American country, a good that has been scarce for weeks, although he qualified that the ships are still "close to arriving" at the Caribbean ports.

"We welcome the ships from the Islamic Republic of Iran that are about to arrive in the ports of our country," El Aissami wrote on his Twitter account, where he also considered that this energy cooperation "aims at the integral development" of both countries. The "energy cooperation between Iran and Venezuela is based on the scientific exchange and productive development of the hydrocarbon industry, in addition to the experience that unites us as OPEC countries. Thank you, brothers," added the also Venezuelan Minister of Petroleum.

The state-owned channel VTV reported earlier that the arrival of these ships to Venezuelan waters is scheduled for 23.00 GMT, and then they will sail for four days through the country until they unload all the fuel they bring.

Once the ships cross the maritime border from Trinidad and Tobago to Venezuela, in the next few hours, they will be escorted by the Bolivarian National Armed Force (FANB), as announced this week by Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino. "All these ships, when they enter our exclusive economic zone, will be escorted by FANB ships, boats and planes," the military chief announced last Thursday.

For his part, the number two of the military institution, Remigio Ceballos, said this Saturday on Twitter that Venezuela "appreciates the solidarity of Iran (...) in assisting the country with aid that is materialized in ships with fuel, escorted by our Navy and our Bolivarian Aviation.

In a letter, the Venezuelan ambassador to the United Nations, Samuel Moncada, points out the "threat of the use of military force" by Washington against the five Iranian ships heading for the Latin American country. His letter, which he made public through social networks, is added to a similar one sent to the UN by Iran last week, in which the government of Tehran pointed out that it reserves the right to adopt "appropriate and necessary measures" against the threats of hindering its fuel transport to Venezuela.

Moncada refers to several reports in the US media about the possible reaction of Donald Trump's government to the delivery of Iranian gasoline to Venezuela, although these same reports indicate that Washington is inclined to respond with more sanctions and not with force.

Despite this, the diplomat stresses that "if the provocations and threats by the United States materialize in any way, such action would not only constitute an armed military aggression against a merchant ship flying the Iranian flag and against the Venezuelan people as a whole", but in the current pandemic situation "it would amount to a crime against humanity".

In the letter, Moncada recalls the presence of US Navy vessels in the Caribbean, deployed as part of an operation against drug trafficking, which he considers a "pretext" and a threat for the imposition of a "naval blockade" against his country. The message is directed to both the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, and the Security Council, which this week dealt with the Venezuelan crisis at the request of Russia, after the failed operation that earlier this month tried to remove Maduro from power. 

Meanwhile, Iranian President Hassan Rohani warned this Saturday that the United States may have problems if Iran's oil tankers suffer any mishaps in the Caribbean because of him.

"If our oil tankers in the Caribbean or anywhere else in the world run into trouble because of the Americans, they, in turn, will also have problems," Rohani said in a telephone conversation with the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, according to the official website of the Iranian presidency.

"We hope that the Americans are not mistaken," Rohani stressed, after assuring that Tehran will not initiate any conflict, but that it reserves "the legitimate right to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity and its national interests," while reiterating the importance of security in the region. For his part, Al-Thani stressed that Qatar is opposed to any escalation of the situation and assured: "We will make every effort to reduce tensions".

Iran and Venezuela have maintained a very close relationship since the time of the now deceased President Hugo Chávez (1999-2013), based on opposition to the United States, which keeps both countries under sanctions.

Venezuela is experiencing a drop in oil and oil product production due to problems that have paralyzed several of its refineries, affected by sanctions and lack of investment. The Iranian energy sector is also greatly weakened by the sanctions imposed in 2018 by the United States, which bans the export of crude oil from Iran.