CARACAS: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on Sunday he will soon visit Iran to finalize new agreements on cooperation with the Middle Eastern country, which has become Venezuela’s top ally in boosting oil output amid US sanctions.
Venezuela and Iran have strengthened their ties since last year.
Maduro’s government has received vital equipment for its oil industry from Iran, which in return has received crude and other primary resources from the South American country. Iran has been crucial for Venezuela’s rising oil production in 2021.
“I am going to Teheran very soon, for a visit that President (Ebrahim) Raisi offered me, so that we meet in person, to hold conversations and sign new agreements ... and speed up processes of cooperation,” Maduro said during an interview with satellite news broadcaster Al Mayadeen in Spanish, which was later broadcast on Venezuelan state television.
Maduro said he has had two telephone conversations with Iran’s president, adding that they have agreed to work on new plans, without providing details. He also did not give a date for the visit but described the two countries as “fighters.”
In 2022, Venezuela will also look to reactivate means of cooperation with Arab countries, Maduro added, saying that “they love us in the Arab world, I know that Arab governments and peoples love Venezuela.”
The tightening of US sanctions since 2019 has affected Venezuela’s ability to sell crude and import fuel, which has exacerbated gasoline shortages across the country.
Venezuela’s President Maduro to visit Iran ‘very soon’
https://arab.news/7mcr5
Venezuela’s President Maduro to visit Iran ‘very soon’
- Says he will finalize plans he and Iran President Ebrahim Raisi had agreed upon by phone
Pentagon readies 1,500 soldiers to possibly deploy to Minnesota, Washington Post reports
- The Army placed the units on prepare-to-deploy orders in case violence in the state escalates
The US Pentagon has ordered about 1,500 active-duty soldiers to prepare for a possible deployment to Minnesota, the Washington Post reported on Sunday, citing defense officials.
The Army placed the units on prepare-to-deploy orders in case violence in the state escalates, the Washington Post report said.
The move comes after US President Donald Trump threatened to use the Insurrection Act if officials in the state don’t stop protesters from targeting immigration officials.
“If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don’t obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E., who are only trying to do their job, I will institute the INSURRECTION ACT,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Thursday.
The Pentagon and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
