TEHERAN, May 24. /TASS/. The first Iranian tanker with fuels has reach Venezuela’s coast, despite the United States’ threats, IRNA news agency reported on Sunday.
The Fortune vessel sailed off the Iranian port of Shahid Rajaee seventy-two days ago. Four more Iranian tankers with fuels are expected in Venezuela within days.
Reuters said earlier citing Refinitiv Eikon, an analytical company, that the first out of five Iranian tankers had neared Venezuela’s territorial waters on Saturday.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on May 17 summoned the Swiss ambassador, who also represents the United States’ interests in Iran, to warn Washington against pursuing Iranian tankers heading for Venezuela. Apart from that, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif sent a letter to United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres stressing that the United States must respect international law, and freedom of navigation in particular.
The Wall Street Journal said on May 20 citing sources in the presidential administration that the US authorities were looking at imposing sanctions and a number of other restrictive measures against Iran over its supplying fuels to Venezuela.