US monitors two Iranian warships that may be en route to Venezuela

U.S. National Security Agencies Monitor Two Iranian Warships With Possibly Final Destination Venezuela, As reported Politics, citing three sources familiar with the situation, in what would be a provocative movement at a tense moment in relations between the United States and Tehran.

An Iranian frigate and the Makran, a former oil tanker that has been converted to a floating operations base, are heading south along Africa’s eastern coast. While U.S. officials are unsure where the ships are going, Washington believes they may be heading to Venezuela.

In recent years, Tehran has established itself as one of the main supporters of the Chavist dictatorship and has already become one of its largest 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 the Member States 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 few allies. And for Tehran, Venezuela is almost the only open door in Latin America. Thus, relations between the two countries extend to the military sector.

Politico reported that senior Chavista regime officials had previously been warned that receiving Iranian warships with honors would be a mistake but, the publication details, it is not clear whether Maduro heeded this warning … “The mere presence of Iranian warships in the US backyard would challenge US authority in the region, and likely fuel debate in Washington over President Joe Biden’s decision to reopen negotiations with Tehran. “, assures the North American media.

The Makran, over 70 meters long and commissioned this year, functions as a platform for electronic warfare and special operations missions, and Iranian officials have bragged about the missile and weapon capabilities of the ship. They said it could carry up to seven helicopters, as well as drones.

The arrival of the ships would be particularly untimely for those actively working to ease tensions between Washington and Tehran, and it could limit the possibility of the United States joining the 2015 agreement to curb Iran’s nuclear program, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which Donald Trump abandoned in 2018. These talks continue in Vienna.

If that materializes, it wouldn’t be the first time Iranian ships have arrived in Venezuela from Maduro. Between May and June 2020, Iran shipped ships containing 1.5 million liters of gasoline, amid a shortage worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic in the former oil power. For Iran, the ships represent a way to raise funds for its Shia theocracy and to put pressure on the United States.

“Maduro has opened the doors of Venezuela to Iran and all of its terrorist groups, it is undoubtedly the greatest threat to Latin America. Cells that promote values ​​contrary to those of the region operate from our country “, The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Juan Guaidó denounced Infobae months ago. According to opponents of Maduro’s regime, the Bolivarian armed forces are receiving advice from Iran on telecommunications. It is suspected that with Iranian support, the regime has set up a telecommunications center in Cabo de San Román, in the far north of Venezuela, to monitor air and maritime telecommunications.

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