Venezuela: Military Will Escort Iranian Tankers to Shore

Venezuela DM thanks Iran for cooperation

Venezuelan DM Vladimir Padrino announced on Wednesday that the nation’s military will welcome and escort Iranian gasoline tankers into the coast, thanking Iran for its cooperation and assuring the tankers will safely make it into port.

Venezuela is facing fuel shortages because of US sanctions, and the US complaints about the Iran tankers were seen as a threat to try to stop them. Venezuela clearly believes they need to come out and meet the ships themselves.

Iran has extra fuel because of US sanctions, and Venezuela struggles to get supplies for the same reason. The two nations are coming together on the matter, reportedly trading gas for gold. The US has condemned the process, but there is no international law prohibiting this.

Other than non-specific threats, the US responded by “blacklisting” a Chinese company for facilitating the airline that putatively ships the gold back to Iran after the trade is completed.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.