Maduro says he will visit Iran for deals

CARACAS－Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Monday said he would visit Iran shortly to sign cooperation agreements in energy and other sectors, after Iran sent five fuel tankers to the gasoline-starved South American country.

"I am obliged to go to personally thank the people," Maduro said in a state television address, without providing a date for the visit.

The country on Monday launched a fuel-pricing system that largely rolls back decades of heavy subsidies.

Cheap fuel was for decades considered a birthright in the oil-producing nation, but service stations have run dry in recent months due to Venezuela's dysfunctional refineries and US sanctions meant to force Maduro from power.

Maduro on Sunday created a two-tiered system in which drivers can buy up to 120 liters per month in local currency for the equivalent of 2 US cents per liter, but have to pay 50 cents per liter above that amount. He said the new system would help combat "contraband" fuel.

Also on Monday, a spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry said Iran will continue fuel shipments to Venezuela if Caracas requests more supplies, despite Washington's criticism of the trade between the two nations, which are both under US sanctions.

"Iran practices its free trade rights with Venezuela and we are ready to send more ships if Caracas demands more supplies from Iran," Abbas Mousavi told a weekly news conference broadcast live on state TV.

Defying US threats, Iran has sent a flotilla of five tankers of fuel to Venezuela.

US threat

Seeking to deter further shipments, Washington is monitoring the supply. It has warned governments, seaports, shippers and insurers that they could face measures if they aid the tankers.

According to Refinitiv Eikon on Sunday, two Iranian tankers that delivered fuel to Venezuela as part of the flotilla have begun to sail back, as the government in Caracas prepares stations to begin charging for the gasoline.

The fifth and final tanker in the flotilla, the Clavel, entered Venezuelan waters late on Sunday and was near the country's Tortuga Island on Monday while heading to state-run oil company PDVSA's El Palito refinery.

Tensions have spiked between Teheran and Washington since May 2018, when US President Donald Trump exited Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers and reimposed sanctions on Teheran.

In the time since, the two countries have seen a series of escalating incidents, including a US drone strike that killed an Iranian general in Baghdad and an Iranian missile attack targeting US troops in Iraq.

Meanwhile, an Iranian scientist imprisoned in the US is on his way back to Iran after being freed, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif confirmed on Tuesday.

Sirous Asgari was flying flight back to Iran, Zarif said in an Instagram post. "Dr Sirous Asgari is in the air on a flight back to Iran. Congratulations to his wife and family," he wrote.

Agencies - Xinhua