Iran Tankers Arrive Safely in Venezuela After US Threats

Venezuela envoy informs UN of imminent US threats

The Trump Administration has been reacting angrily to Iran’s shipment of five tankers of gasoline to Venezuela throughout, talking up sanctions or other actions against them. This didn’t amount to much real action, however, as the tankers reached Venezuelan waters late Saturday.

There was talk of the US sending more ships to the Caribbean for a potential confrontation, and Venezuela alerted the UN of Friday of a “threat of imminent use of military force by the United States” against the tankers.

Heavy US sanctions have ground Venezuela’s refineries to a halt and caused shortages. The US has also tried to forbid Iran from selling oil and gas. The solution the two nations found was to deal with one another, and while this clearly was against US policy, there was little the US could really do about it.

Venezuela’s President Maduro thanked Iran for providing the gasoline in comments Sunday. Reportedly, Venezuela pays for the shipments in gold, which are flown back to Iran. The US has sanctioned a Chinese company for supporting that airline.

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.