TEHRAN - The Venezuelan President has heaped praise on the late martyr Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani who commanded the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, saying "commander [Qassem] Soleimani visited Venezuela between March and April of 2019. We were in the midst of the crisis of the electrical attacks launched by the imperialists of the North against Venezuela's electrical system.”

In an interview with the Lebanese based al-Mayadeen news channel, Nicolas Maduro referred to the conversation that took place at the time with the late war hero on various areas of cooperation, including the issue of the electrical system noting that "everything we talked about with him has been implemented." According to Maduro, "Commander Soleimani was a cheerful and optimistic man in life, and I thank God that I got to know him" saying that "Soleimani faced terrorism and the bloody terrorist criminals, who attacked the peoples of the axis of resistance. He is a brave man."

He highlighted the importance of "the need to draw lessons from these horrific crimes, such as the assassination of Commander Soleimani” asking "do we want to live in a world where we witness how an order is given from the White House to assassinate a hero of the struggle against terrorism in Iraq, Iran, Syria and Lebanon?” Maduro also stressed the need to "raise our voices once again in rejection of the crime of assassinating the hero of the peoples, General Soleimani."

Touching on ties between Caracas and Tehran, Maduro says "relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran have always been very good”, citing friendly warm ties with former Iranian Presidents and the current one. According to Maduro, he has agreed with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on a set of new plans and will soon visit Tehran to finalize the new agreements on cooperation. The intergovernmental committee of both countries is “working on these new projects, which include networking and cooperation between Iran and Venezuela.” The two sides have boosted cooperation over the past year or two in the face of illegal, unilateral sanctions from the United States against both countries. 

The Venezuelan president also expressed his admiration for the leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, saying that he is "a man of great wisdom and great intelligence."

Elsewhere, Maduro stressed that his county will never abandon Palestine saying "no one in this world dares to ask us to abandon Palestine, and we cannot accept this demand. The sin is just thinking about abandoning Palestine, or leaving it alone." The Venezuelan leader emphasized that "Palestine is the sacred land of mankind, and the land of Palestine has a very great place for us. The name of Palestine is heard loud and great," adding that "these [Israeli] crimes against the Palestinian people will be paid for by (the Israeli occupation) one day."

Maduro affirmed support from Venezuela, all the Venezuelan people and from the Bolivarian revolution founded by leader Hugo Chavez and all its factions towards Palestine and the Palestinians saying "we wish all the best for Palestine, and we have cooperation agreements with [Palestine]; agreements that are going well. We would like to offer more for Palestine”, calling on all the people and rulers of the world, all Arabs, and all the rulers of the Islamic world, not to leave Palestine alone. He stressed that Palestine deserves the steadfast and courageous support of the rulers of the whole world, saying that "Palestine is crying out for help. Palestine appeals to you to support it, as it is exposed daily to crimes and killings of young people." Commenting on the killings and attacks happening in the occupied territories, he says that "the crimes of the occupation are unspeakable and unparalleled in this world.” 

Meanwhile, the Venezuelan leader says that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is "a brave man, a hero and a fighter, and he has a beautiful family and wonderful people," adding, "[Syria] was destined to endure a criminal terrorist war... the Syrian people have suffered a lot during the past 11 years, and they have known how to persevere and how to win. The Syrian Arab Army, along with the unified Syrian people and President Bashar al-Assad, will rise in Syria again, and will liberate it completely."

Maduro believes that "the Arab world, and the whole world, will be amazed at how Syria will resurrect, in the following years." He also noted that "our Ministry of Foreign Affairs will undertake a set of initiatives in 2022, in order to reactivate the mechanisms of cooperation between the Arab world and Latin America, to build ties at both the financial and monetary levels."

"Venezuela is a country of opportunity, and we offer all constitutional and legal guarantees for investments in oil, gas, petrochemicals, tourism, gold, diamonds, iron, steel, aluminum and food products," he stressed, adding that that his country "is witnessing a process of economic recovery as a result of continuous work, based on the recovery of the productive economy, and on the collective effort of the whole of Venezuela."

Maduro indicated that 2021 is "the first year that [Venezuela] recorded economic growth since the criminal sanctions of U.S. imperialism began" noting that "the growth has been achieved thanks to the economy that produces food, goods and services, and we have witnessed the growth of industry, trade and the internal market in the country.” 

Elsewhere on the domestic front, the President highlighted that "the Venezuelan people resisted the brutal attacks launched by U.S. imperialism and its allies in the world, but we withstood and resisted" stressing the necessity of believing in the people "in order to stimulate the value of pride and the strengths that they enjoy, both spiritually and morally.” According to Maduro, "the Venezuelan people have been heroes. I, as president, had to be as heroic as this heroic people," and "I had to arm myself with patience, great faith and confidence in the future, rise to the level of confrontation, and go into battle." He pointed out that the late Cuban president, Fidel Castro, had always said that one must struggle in all circumstances, fight until the last breath, and struggle until the last moment.

Maduro says opposition leader, Juan Guaido, was a kind of political "Frankenstein" and suffered defeat, adding that "imperialism believed that Venezuela belonged to it, and that, through its colonial style, it could appoint a president," explaining that "the Venezuelan people stood up to imperialism." He called on Washington to "abandon their imperialism and their Frankenstein in the quagmire" noting that "during Trump's era, the former [U.S] President appointed a high commissioner named Elliot Abraham to rule the lands of a colony called Venezuela, according to Trump's neo-colonial perspective and imperialism."

2021 is "the first year that [Venezuela] recorded economic growth since the criminal sanctions of U.S. imperialism began."Maduro also pointed out that "we have always felt that we are not alone. In the United Nations, they have tried, several times, not to recognize the legitimacy of our government. We were defeating them with the support of the vast majority of governments.” He expressed his pride in "the movements of solidarity and resistance in this world" and its leaders.

Touching on former Venezuelan leader and his mentor Hugo Chavez, Maduro says that "Commander Chavez cut the relationship of dependency from the United States. We have sovereign military forces, which are the backbone of stability, peace and democracy in Venezuela."
Maduro noted that "when the leader Chavez was faced with the possibility of undergoing a difficult surgery, he said: If something happened that prevents me from continuing in my position as president, then Nicolás [Maduro] must take over." He says that Chavez's decision was a big surprise because it "came as a very strong shock. I know very well that when he thinks about something and makes a decision, it is because he already anticipates that something will happen" elaborating that "we, the revolutionaries, are obligated to absorb any circumstance that is imposed on us. And many, you must be prepared. For the battle, to overcome pain, wounds and sorrows, and to carry out confrontation. And this is what it was.”

He expressed his satisfaction that he has been faithful to the “legacy of Chavez” and "faithful to the oath that I swore to him, and I continued on the first front line, carrying the banner of victory, the banner of Venezuela.”