The United States has warned the dictatorships of Venezuela and Cuba to reject the arrival of Iranian warships that would carry weapons

As US security agencies continue to monitor the two Iranian warships heading towards Central America, the United States warned the dictatorships of Venezuela Yes Cuba -allies of Tehran– What repel the Persian ships supposed to carry weapons to these countries.

According to two defense officials and a source in Congress to the American environment Politics, on condition of anonymity, the government of Joe Biden is put pressure on Caracas and Havana through diplomatic channels so that they do not allow Iranian ships to dock in their country.

At the same time, US government officials are in constant contact with other countries in the region to ensure that they will reject the arrival of warships in Latin America.

Two other people familiar with the matter indicated that the Nicolas maduro try to take advantage of the situation to obtain relief from the economic sanctions imposed by Donald Trump’s administration.

However, US intermediaries told Chavista officials that Allowing Iranian ships to dock in Venezuelan waters would make the United States less likely to ease sanctions on Maduro’s dictatorship.

“Handing over such weapons would be an act of provocation and would be understood as a threat to our partners in the Western Hemisphere.One of the top officials of the Biden administration told Politico. And he warned: “We reserve the right to take appropriate measures in coordination with our partners to deter the transit or delivery of such weapons.”

“The Iranian arms sale took place a year ago under the previous administration [estadounidense] and like many Iran-related situations under the previous administration – including the triggering of Iran’s nuclear program following the reckless withdrawal of the Trump administration from [acuerdo nuclear iraní]- we work for work it through diplomacy (…) But to be clear, Iran sold arms to Venezuela over a year ago, which we believe was to test the Trump administration’s position of maximum pressure ”, this source added.

An Iranian frigate and the Makran, a former oil tanker converted into a floating base of operations, are heading south along the eastern coast of Africa. While US officials are unsure of the destination of the ships, Washington believes they may be heading to Venezuela.

The Makran, more than 70 meters long and put into service this year, it works as platform for electronic warfare missions Yes operations specials, and Iranian officials have boasting of the ship’s missile and weapon capabilities. Like they said it can wear up seven helicopters, as good as Drones.

The US security official said that on Wednesday morning the ships had made more than half of Iran’s trip to Venezuela, and They were sailing slowly northwest, over 1,000 miles from Cape Town, South Africa.

Lawmakers who regularly receive information on the matter have publicly pressured the Biden administration to work to deter the ships. “It doesn’t look like a delivery of oil or fuel cargo”the deputy chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee wrote on Twitter, Marco rubio. “This has all delivery marks on [sic] a sale of weapons (such as rapid attack boats) to Venezuela with the possibility of projecting a message of force to the Biden administration ”.

Iranian speedboats recently attacked the US Coast Guard in the Persian Gulf, as reported Politics. And in 2016, Iranian Revolutionary Guard speedboats seized a US Navy ship in the Gulf, creating an embarrassing situation for the US military.

In recent years, Tehran has established itself as one of the main supporters of the Chavist dictatorship and has already become one of its main trading partners in the fuel, health and food sectors.

The alliance between Venezuela and Iran was born with Hugo Chávez. The close relationship that the late president established with the Persian regime began at the summit of heads of state of member countries of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) held in Caracas in 2000.

Since then and until shortly before his death, the Caribbean leader visited the Islamic Republic of Iran on several occasions, and then President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited Caracas at least five times. time. During this period, hundreds of bilateral agreements were signed covering the petroleum, chemical, real estate and automotive sectors. Chávez said his alliance with Tehran was fundamental to his government and even gave Ahmadinejad a replica of Simón Bolivar’s sword.. Anyone who received one – Russian Valdimir Putin and Syrian Bashar Al Assad, for example – were automatically considered friends of Miraflores.

For Maduro, internationally isolated by the brutality of his regime, Iran has become one of his rare allies. And for Tehran, Venezuela is almost the only door left open in Latin America. Thus, the relations between the two countries extend to the military domain.

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