Iran delivers self-made supertanker to Maduro

Iran delivered an oil tanker to Venezuela this Saturday, during the official visit to Tehran of the Venezuelan dictator, Nicholas Maduro.

The President of Iran, Ebrahim Raisiand his Venezuelan counterpart communicated by videoconference on the deck of the ship to follow the delivery of the oil tanker in the Persian Gulf, the Iranian government reported.

According to the EFE agency, the supership has been built by the Iranian Industrial Shipping Company, Salman Zarbi (SADRA) and belongs to the Aframax category, in which theOil tankers with between 80,000 and 125,000 tons of cargo capacity.

This is the second oil tanker of this type to Iran delivers to Venezuela in recent years and according to the Iranian authorities are building two more 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, Transport and Tourism.

cooperation agreement

During the visit, Iran and Venezuela today signed a 20-year strategic cooperation agreementwhich provides for its collaboration in the oil, petrochemical, tourism, food and technology sectors.

The signing ceremony, broadcast on Iranian state television, was overseen by Raisi and Maduro, and took place at the Saadabad Palace in northern Tehran.

The plan includes cooperation in the areasfields of oil, petrochemicals, defence, agriculture, tourism and culturea, and was signed by the foreign ministers Hossein Amirabdollahian and Carlos Fariafrom Venezuela.

It also includes the repair of Venezuelan refineries and export technical and engineering services.

“Venezuela has shown exemplary resistance against sanctions and threats from enemies and imperialists,” Raisi said. “The document of cooperation of 20 years It is testimony to the will of the two countries to develop ties.”

“The sanctions and threats against the Iranian nation in the last more than 40 years have been numerous, but the Iranian nation has turned these sanctions into an opportunity for the country’s progress,” he said.

Maduro assured through an interpreter that on July 18, a weekly flight from Caracas to Tehran would begin.

Hugo Chavez, in memoriam

Relations between Tehran and Caracas have been very close since the time of the late president Hugo Chavez (1999-2013), founded on his mutual opposition to the United States.

Iran has become one of the main allies of the Maduro government in recent years, particularly since 2020 when there was a gasoline shortage in Venezuela and Caracas turned to Tehran to buy fuel.