Iran: Iranian fuel tankers crossing into Venezuelan waters has
defied US sanction pressures against Tehran and Caracas, an expert said here.
The deal between Iran and Venezuela which came amid unprecedented US sanctions
on both contries is primarily a "humiliation" of American policies, Foad Izadi,
a professor at the Faculty of World Studies of the University of Tehran, said
on Sunday. On Sunday, the first vessel of Iranian five-tanker flotilla loaded
with gasoline crossed into the Venezuelan territorial waters, escorted by the
the Venezuelan navy, reports Xinhua news agency. On Monday, two other tankers
entered the Caribbean Sea and are heading to the Latin American country's
refinery ports. Squeezed under economic pressures, both Iran and Venezuela
struggle to evade the impacts of embargos by the administration of US President
Donald Trump. The Islamic Republic has a surplus of oil and gasoline, due to a
significant drop in its exports pursuant to the sanctions and global economic
setback caused by novel coronavirus pandemic. Meanwhile, Venezuela is in dire
need of fuel because of its aged refinery facilities and inefficient energy
management, which has made it rely on its imports. (IANS)