An Iranian airline opens its flights to Venezuela by taking the lawyer of the alleged perpetrators of the AMIA bombing in Buenos Aires

The Iranian airline Mahan Air, the second largest in the country, officially opened today a direct flight between Tehran and Caracas, sign of close relations between Iran and Venezuela, two countries under US sanctions.

The first plane to the Venezuelan capital He took off Monday morning from Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran and the scheduled trip is 16 hours, according to the Organization of Iranian Civil Aviation.

The spokesman of the Organization, Reza Yafarzadeh, explained in a statement that on this flight travel the director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for America, Mohsen Baharvand, accompanied by a delegation.

He is a lawyer and diplomat known in South America, especially in Argentina: he worked for years defending Iranians accused of having participated in the attack on the AMIA headquarters. in Buenos Aires.

Iranian officials will meet with their Venezuelan counterparts on the current situation in this country of South America and on the conditions of flight maintenance.

Relations between Iran and Venezuela have been very close since the time of former President Hugo Chávez, based on their mutual opposition to the United States.

The Iranian government supports the Chavanist leader, Nicolás Maduro, and denounces the US interference in Venezuela since the Speaker of Parliament, Juan Guaidó, self-proclaimed president last January.

The United States was the first country in the world to recognize President Guaidó's opposition as Venezuela's legitimate president and to impose sanctions on the Caribbean country to force Maduro out of power.

Washington also imposed stiff sanctions on Iran last year after unilaterally withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear deal signed between Tehran and six major powers.

In addition, the US government condemned the Mahan Air airline several years ago for supporting the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and accused the company of transporting military equipment to Middle East conflict areas.

Washington's pressure has spread to Europe. In recent months, Germany and France have also banned Mahan Air flights to their countries.

Mahan Air is a private airline founded in 1991 that operates domestic and international flights to destinations such as Moscow, Beijing and Barcelona.