US Frowns Upon Iranian Grocery Store in Venezuela

State Dept warns Iran is putting itself in more danger with supermarket

The US was mad at Iran at the start of the week, and that anger grew with Iran holding a military drill with a wooden mock aircraft carrier. What is making officials madder than ever, however, is a newly opened Iranian grocery store, complete with Covid-19 safety features.

Assistant Secretary of State Michael Kozak says the store is “not something we look favorably upon,” saying it points to an alliance between “pariah” states. To the extent that alliance is happening, it’s because the US has forced the two nations together with increasingly aggressive sanctions.

US sanctions aimed at imposing regime change in Venezuela created a series of shortages, starting with gasoline, which Iran, who the US generally forbids from selling their goods, filling those gaps with gold for goods trades.

Megasis market company head Issa Rezaei says that this is strictly a commercial transaction, as his company also plans to buy mangoes and pineapples to take back to Iran.

Kozak, however, still complained that Venezuela is too poor to buy Iranian products, saying that Iran would not only fail to save Venezuela, but is also putting itself in even greater danger by defying the US with the opening of such a store.

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.