June 11 (Reuters) – Iran and Venezuela, oil producers battling crippling US sanctions, signed a 20-year plan for cooperation in Tehran on Saturday, with the top leader of the Islamic Republic saying allies will continue to oppose pressure from Washington.
The signing ceremony, broadcast on Iranian state television, was watched by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his Venezuelan counterpart, Nicolas Maduro, and took place at Saadabad Palace in northern Tehran.
The plan includes co-operation in the fields of oil, petrochemicals, defense, agriculture, tourism and culture.
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It also includes the repair of Venezuelan refineries and the export of technical and engineering services.
“Venezuela has shown exemplary resistance to sanctions and threats from enemies and imperialists,” said Iranian Raisi. “The 20-year-old co-operation document is a testament to the two sides’ will to develop relations.
“Sanctions and threats against the Iranian nation have been numerous for more than 40 years, but the Iranian nation has turned these sanctions into an opportunity for the country to progress,” he said.
Maduro said through an interpreter that the weekly flight from Caracas to Tehran would begin on July 18th.
In a meeting with Maduro, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei promised that Iran would continue to support Venezuela in the face of US pressure, according to state media.
“The successful experience of both sides has shown that resistance is the only way to deal with this pressure,” Khamenei said. “The two countries do not have such close ties with any other country, and Iran has shown that it takes risks in times of danger and holds the hands of its friends.”
Maduro said: “You came to our aid when the situation in Venezuela was very difficult and no country was helping us.”
To repel US pressure, Iran sent several cargoes of fuel to Venezuela and helped repair the refinery. Last month, Venezuela began importing heavy Iranian oil, extending an exchange agreement signed last year to exchange Iranian condensate for Venezuelan heavy oil. Read more
Maduro arrived in Tehran on Friday with a high-ranking political and economic delegation after visiting Turkey and Algeria.
During the visit, Iran delivered to Venezuela the second of four Aframax oil tankers with a capacity of 800,000 barrels, ordered by the Iranian company SADRA, state media reported. SADRA has been under US sanctions for more than a decade over its ties to Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards.
In May, the Iranian state-owned company National Iranian Oil Engineering and Construction Co signed a contract worth about 110m euros to repair a smaller refinery in Venezuela with 146,000 barrels per day.
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Report from Dubai Newsroom; Edited by Jason Neely, Angus McSwon and Diane Kraft
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