In an interview with President Maduro following his arrival in Tehran for a two-day visit, Iranian state media reported late Friday that Maduro hailed Iran’s move to send fuel tankers to his energy-hungry country.
“Tehran’s delivery of oil to Caracas was a great help to the Venezuelan people,” he stated.
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Maduro’s first visit to Iran comes amid tensions across the Middle East over the collapse of Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers. U.S. sanctions and increasing global food prices are choking Iran’s ailing economy, putting additional pressure on its government and its people.
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A high-ranking political and economic delegation from Venezuela — which like Iran is under heavy U.S. sanctions — is accompanying Maduro on his visit, after an invitation from hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi.
In a joint press conference Saturday, Raisi and Maduro signed a 20-year agreement to expand connections in the oil and petrochemical industries, the military and the economy.
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Iranian English-language PressTV quoted Maduro before the news conference as stating the two men would meet to address “the need to well inform the Iranian and Venezuelan nations about the war of sanctions and find ways to counter them with steadfastness.”
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Maduro announced Venezuela and Iran are united by “a common vision” on international matters and are both victims of coercive measures by the United States and its allies.
“Caracas and Tehran have shaped the strategy of (a) resistance economy and are working to expand it,” he stated.
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On his website, Khamenei announced that the successful experience of the two countries showed that the only way to encounter the United States’ pressures and wars is “to resist.” He thanked Maduro and the people of Venezuela for their resistance, stating that “today, the United States views Venezuela differently.”
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Maduro is on a Eurasia tour after President Joe Biden chose not to invite him to the Summit of the Americas, which started Thursday. His stops earlier this week included Algeria and Turkey.
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Turkey is one of a handful of places around the world — Russia and Iran are among them — where Maduro is welcome amid U.S. sanctions on his country.
Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua were not invited to the summit by the Biden administration because of their authoritarianism and human rights violations. That choice led to Mexico’s president declaring he would not attend.
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Raisi praised Maduro as a leader “who has shown a policy of fighting against imperialism and has achieved a good position by overcoming sanctions and threats.”
Maduro declared that a direct flight between Tehran and Caracas would start next month.