The Iranian Foreign Ministry said today that Tehran is ready to continue shipping its oil to Venezuela if Caracas requests more, two days after America threatened to punish countries and companies that help Iranian tankers carrying fuel to Venezuela.
"Iran is exercising its right to free trade with Venezuela, and it is ready to send other ships if Caracas requests more supplies from Iran," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi added. Tehran last week sent five tankers to Venezuela, despite the US sanctions imposed on the two countries, and carried the five million and 53,000 barrels of liquid fuel.
On Sunday, data from Refinitiv Icon said that two of the five Iranian tankers that delivered fuel to Venezuela started sailing back, while the government in Caracas is preparing stations to start using gasoline.
A crisis in Venezuela Venezuela
suffers from a shortage of gasoline and a decline in refinery production, despite having one of the largest oil reserves in the world, due to the effects of the US sanctions. Because of the ongoing crisis, the decision of Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro to raise fuel prices, which until now was almost free in the socialist oil country, began today.
The United States' special envoy to Venezuela, Elliot Abrams, said two days ago that the administration of President Donald Trump secretly warned governments, ports, and shipping and insurance companies that they could face harsh sanctions if they helped tankers carrying Iranian fuel to Venezuela.
Last month, the US administration issued a circular on global navigation, which includes instructions for the shipping sector on how to avoid submitting to the US sanctions imposed on Iran, Syria and North Korea.