BEIRUT: Venezuela’s foreign minister, meeting with anti-US allies in the Middle East, says opposition leader Juan Guaidó is in breach of the constitution and that the judiciary has to “take care” of it.
Jorge Arreaza met Wednesday with Lebanon’s president and foreign minister in Beirut. He is expected to meet with an official from the Hezbollah militant group before traveling onward to Syria.
Venezuela’s National Constituent Assembly, loyal to President Nicolas Maduro, has stripped Guaidó of his immunity, putting him at risk of arrest for supposedly violating the constitution when he declared himself interim president in January.
The United States and roughly 50 other nations recognize Guaidó as Venezuela’s legitimate leader.
Maduro’s government has warm relations with Syria and its allies in Lebanon, all of which are opposed to US policies.
Venezuelan FM visits anti-US allies in Mideast
Venezuelan FM visits anti-US allies in Mideast
- The FM plans to meet a Hezbollah official before leaving Lebanon
- Maduro’s government has good relations with Arab countries opposed to US policies
Iran and US diverge in views on sanctions relief, senior Iranian official to Reuters
- Renewed talks scheduled in early March and could possibly lead to an interim deal
DUBAI: Iran and the United States have differing views over the scope and mechanism to lift sanctions on Tehran in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Sunday, adding that new talks were planned in early March. The official said Tehran could seriously consider a combination of exporting part of its highly enriched uranium (HEU) stockpile, diluting the purity of its HEU and a regional consortium for enriching uranium, but in return Iran’s right to “peacful nuclear enrichment” must be recognized.
“The negotiations continue and the possibility of reaching an interim agreement exists,” the official said. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Friday that he expected to have a draft counterproposal ready within days following nuclear talks with the United States this week, while US President Donald Trump said he was considering limited military strikes.
The senior official said Tehran will not hand over control of its oil and mineral resources but US companies can always participate as contractors in Iran’s oil and gas fields.
