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Iran handed over another oil tanker to Venezuela by signing a 20-year cooperation agreement

Iran delivered this Saturday an oil tanker to Venezueladuring the official visit to Tehran by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and after the signing of a 20-year cooperation agreement between the two countries.

The president of Iran, Ebrahim Raisí, and Maduro communicated by videoconference with the deck of the ship to follow the delivery of the oil tanker in the Persian Gulf, reported the Iranian government.

The ship has been built by the Iranian Industrial Shipping Company, Salman Zarbi (SADRA) and belongs to the category Aframax, in which oil tankers with between 80,000 and 125,000 tons of cargo capacity are cataloged.

Is aboutthe second tanker of this type that Iran has delivered to Venezuela in recent years and, according to the Iranian authorities, two more are being built for Caracas.

The Aframax, due to their medium size, are oil tankers used in areas and routes to which large oil tankers do not have access, such as canals, river areas or shallow ports.

Maduro arrived in Tehran on Friday on a two-day official visit at the head of a large delegation that includes the Venezuelan ministers of Foreign Affairs, Agriculture, Communication, Science, Transportation and Tourism.

In addition, they signed a cooperation agreement for 20 years, during a Maduro visit to Tehran in which the Venezuelan president highlighted the growing “indestructible friendship” between the two countries.

The pact “shows the determination of the high officials of the two countries to develop relations in different fields,” said Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, in a statement to the press together with his Venezuelan counterpart.

The document, of which no details were provided, was signed by both foreign ministers.

Maduro confirmed that the two countries face “major cooperation fronts” in the oil, gas and petrochemical fields and also in the defense sector.

“I believe that an indestructible friendship will grow between the two of us for the future of our peoples,” said the Venezuelan president.

Specifically, the Venezuelan president cited “the economic miracle in food production” carried out by Iran, from which Venezuela can draw inspiration.

“They have even created technologies to produce food in desert areas,” he said.

Maduro explained that his government wants to “deepen technological cooperation with Iran to produce more food in Venezuela“, where according to him there are 33 million hectares of arable land.

That is why we must “learn from this impressive experience of Iran to continue raising food production with its own resources on Venezuelan soil,” said the president.

Maduro mentioned, without giving more details, “joint projects between the two countries to produce food in Venezuela and export to Iran” and other countries in the region.

He also recalled that “Venezuela went through tough, turbulent years as a result of the aggressions of imperialism“, but “he resisted, contained the aggression and entered a stage of real and true recovery”.

Raisi praised the “determination of the people, those responsible and the president of Venezuela who made it possible to resist the sanctions.”

“Today (Venezuela) leaves hyperinflation behind and begins economic growth. It is a good sign, which shows that the resistance works and will force the enemy to retreat,” said the Iranian leader.

In addition, the South American president announced that a Caracas-Tehran flight will resume operation on July 18.

“Venezuela is open to receiving tourists from Iran so that they can go and enjoy the beauty of the Caribbean, the Andes, the Amazon,” he said.

The official Iranian agency IRNA explained that the ministers of both countries signed “cooperation agreements in the political, economic, tourism, oil and petrochemical fields” during Maduro’s visit.

The two leaders attended a videoconference ceremony from the presidential palace where an Iranian-made oil tanker was handed over to Venezuela, IRNA reported.

According to the agency, this is the second of the four ships commissioned by Caracas.

Maduro also met with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who said “resistance” is the way to deal with US pressure.

“The conclusion that can be drawn from the resistance and the success of the two nations of Iran and Venezuela is that the only way to avoid pressure is to resist and resist,” Khamenei said.

The Ayatollah praised the agreement between the two countries and called for “stronger” cooperation, according to a statement on his official website.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran has shown that it takes risks in times of danger and takes the hands of its friends,” he added.

Along with Russia, China, Cuba and Turkey, Iran is one of Venezuela’s main allies. And, like the South American country, it is subject to harsh sanctions by the United States.

In 2020, Tehran sent ships loaded with gasoline and derivatives to Venezuela, a country with the largest crude oil reserves in the world, amid acute fuel shortages due to a brutal drop in oil production.

In May, Iran’s Oil Minister, Javad Owji, visited Venezuela in search of “routes” to “overcome” the effects of US sanctions against the two countries.

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