Venezuela reiterates expansion of trade with Iran despite US threats

In an interview with Hispan TV, Ruben Dario Molina referred to the opening of the first Iranian supermarket Megasis in Caracas last month, which he described as an important step for the development of commercial ties between the two countries in the face of “unfair and illegal US coercive measures”, which have been tightened amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Trade must be at the service of human condition, of each country’s interests, but also at the service of how these interests are shared and how totally legal mechanisms are established on the basis of international law,” said Molina, who also stressed that Venezuela and Iran do not care about what the US government thinks.

“They should respect international law,” he said according to the website of the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry.

In this regard, Molina said that Venezuela and Iran defend their right to free navigation to transport their products beyond the threats of the administration of US President Donald Trump. He reiterated that the commercial alliance between the two countries will be further deepened.

“The United States is obliged to comply with international regulations, with the minimum standards for coexistence. So, they will see if they continue with their threats and siege, and we will continue sharing our potential and complementing our economies,” highlighted the Venezuelan diplomat.

Molina questioned the accusations made by US newspaper The Wall Street Journal against the owner of the Iranian supermarket in Venezuela, Issa Rezaei, and described them as “lies” told from the United States.

“They use lies to confuse. We have not gotten confused. We have the right to have our own company, our own industry, and we have the right to our own development,” Molina stressed.

The US daily has claimed that Rezaei has long been running companies owned by Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps.

In this regard, he praised the support provided by the Islamic Republic of Iran in different fields, including the industrial and food sectors, despite the blockade and unilateral coercive measures imposed by the United States and its allies.

“Possibly, this is what the US imperialism thinks is the most dangerous thing, that they have not been able to break the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. They haven’t been able and they won’t be able,” he said.

As Washington’s sanctions have put in danger the life of the Venezuelan people, especially in the midst of the COVID-19 sanitary crisis, Iran has sent tons of medical supplies to Venezuela to relieve the South American nation’s suffering.

Venezuela’s and Iran’s growing bilateral relations have given prominence in recent months to a new, blooming bond between the two countries in defiance of the financial embargoes imposed by the current US president on them.