Sanctions-hit Iran signs 20-year cooperation deal with Venezuela; allies vow to resist Washington
- The signing ceremony was overseen by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro and took place in north Tehran on Saturday
- The plan includes cooperation in the fields of oil, petrochemicals, defence, agriculture, tourism, and culture
Iran and Venezuela, oil producers grappling with crippling US sanctions, signed a 20-year cooperation plan in Tehran on Saturday, with the Islamic Republic’s supreme leader saying the allies would continue to resist pressure from Washington.
The signing ceremony, carried by Iranian state TV, was overseen by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro and took place at the Saadabad Palace in north Tehran.
The plan includes cooperation in the fields of oil, petrochemicals, defence, agriculture, tourism, and culture. It also includes repair of Venezuelan refineries and the export of technical and engineering services.
“Venezuela has shown exemplary resistance against sanctions and threats from enemies and Imperialists,” Iran’s Raisi said. “The 20-year cooperation document is testimony to the will of the two countries to develop ties.”
“Sanctions and threats against the Iranian nation over the past 40 plus years have been numerous, but the Iranian nation has turned these sanctions into an opportunity for the country’s progress,” he said.
Maduro said through an interpreter that a weekly flight from Caracas to Tehran would begin on July 18.
In a meeting with Maduro, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed Iran would continue to back Venezuela in the face of US pressures, according to state media.