TEHRAN - Presidential chief of staff Mahmoud Vaezi said on Monday that Iran respects the Venezuela government and people and welcomes expansion of ties and cooperation with the Latin American country.

“Iran’s political determination is supporting the legal Venezuelan government and helping the people of this country solve their problems,” he said during a meeting with Venezuelan president special envoy Jorge Marquez.

Vaezi also noted that the United States seeks to exert pressure and hatch plots against the freedom-seeking people, especially Iran and Venezuela.

“We have to prevent any harm to the people’s well-being by the enemies’ sanctions through solidarity and expansion of cooperation and relations,” the presidential chief of staff said.

The Venezuelan envoy delivered a written message of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to President Hassan Rouhani.

Marquez said that Iran and Venezuela have very good relations, calling for expansion of ties.

He also praised Iran’s supports for Venezuela.

Elsewhere, he said that the U.S. hegemony is common enemy of Iran and Venezuela which should be countered through unity.

Rouhani has said that Iran and Venezuela should deepen “strategic” and “friendly” ties.

He made the remarks in a message to President Maduro on the occasion of the anniversary of Venezuela’s independence.

“Stressing the necessity of deepening friendly and strategic relations between the two countries, I am sure that we will witness the Venezuelan people’s victory in overcoming the current problems in near future,” Rouhani predicted.

‘Iranian tankers’ arrival in Venezuela was a celebration day’

Marquez also said that arrival of Iranian fuel tankers in Venezuela was a celebration day for the people.

People of Venezuela considers the Iranian nation a “great hero”, he added.

Five Iranian oil tankers by the names of Petunia, Forest, Faxon, Clavel, and Fortune carried fuel to Venezuela despite the United States’ sanctions. The last of them entered Venezuelan waters on June 1.

The tankers carried 1,520,000 barrels of gasoline and diesel fuel to Venezuela. There was also a team of Iranian engineers and specialists from the oil industry on board heading for the country.

Reportedly, another four Iranian tankers are sailing towards Venezuela.

Both Iran and Venezuela have been sanctioned by the U.S. 

In remarks on June 11, the commander of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps said Iran "imposed its will" after sending fuel tankers to Venezuela and denounced the United States as a fading world power.

Major General Hossein Salami said despite harshest American sanctions, Iran was still able to supply Caracas with crucial petrol products.

The Islamic Republic is "breaking the back of the enemies", Salami said, according to Aljazeera.

"By God's grace, today we are witnessing the early and rapid decline of our arch enemies, particularly the U.S. All of the symbols with which the U.S. was presenting itself and was displaying an untrue image to the world are falling, and the U.S. is tearing apart the image it had created about itself," said the top general.

"Unable to contain the coronavirus, the U.S. is today in the worst economic conditions," he added.

NA/PA