TEHRAN - Seyyed Saeed Mirtorabi Hosseini, an Iranian oil and gas analyst and a fellow scientist at Kharazmi University, has said that arrival of Iran’s oil tankers in Venezuela’s waters shows that the Iranian nation is breaking the shackles of United States’ sanctions.

“The United States has imposed sanctions [in the energy sector] on two countries, Iran and Venezuela. But they were able to oppose these unilateral U.S. sanctions. The successful shipment of oil tankers to Venezuela, which is in dire need of fuel, tells Iran that it is on the right track to confront the cruel U.S. sanctions. It symbolizes that the Iranian nation is breaking the shackles of U.S. sanctions,” Sputnik quoted him as saying on Tuesday.

Hosseini also noted that the U.S. is unlikely to launch an attack on Iran’s tankers in the Atlantic Ocean or near the Venezuelan coast, because it would cost it dearly.

“Tankers are provided with an Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) Navy escort. I do not think that the United States will take such a step as attacking or hijacking Iranian tankers. It will be considered a violation of International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea and generally cost the Americans a heavy price. The only disadvantage of these tankers is the possible lack of international insurance, as many large insurance companies have to comply with the rules dictated by the United States,” he said.

The first of five Iranian tankers carrying 1.53 million barrels of gasoline and alkylate reached Venezuelan waters late Saturday to ease the Latin American nation’s fuel crunch.

The second tanker has also reached the Venezuelan waters. Three other tankers are on the way to arrive in Venezuela.

The shipments have infuriated Washington as both Iran and Venezuela are under illegal U.S. sanctions.

The U.S. recently beefed up its naval presence in the Caribbean for what it called an expanded anti-drug operation.

Washington has also threatened to take measures especially against Iran, according to a senior U.S. official, who did not provide further details.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Saturday warned of retaliatory measures against the United States if it caused problems for tankers. 

NA/PA