Venezuelan FM To Iran's President: We're Ready for Closer Ties

Iranian President Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi held a meeting this Monday in Tehran with Venezuelan Foreign Minister Felix Plasencia. The strategic nature of the relations between the two nations and the mutual commitment to defend multilateralism and cooperation for development were stressed.

Raisi emphasized that Venezuela constitutes a priority in economic diplomacy for Iran, which wishes to deepen its ties with developing countries, particularly those that defend their sovereignty against domineering nations.

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He urged the establishment of a clear and long-term plan to develop bilateral relations. He expressed his certainty that the upcoming visit of President Nicolás Maduro Moros to the Iranian capital will contribute to the design of this strategic plan.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hosein Amir Abdolahian confirmed the visit of the Bolivarian leader to Tehran in the coming months to cement bilateral relations, which are considered strategic.

Plasencia conveyed to Raisi greetings from Maduro Moros and expressed that Caracas will stand by Tehran in the fight against the interference of the United States government.

He valued that both nations are united against the hegemonic system and against those who want to undermine their independence through unilateral and illegal coercive measures.

"We are honored to be received by the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ebrahim Raeisi, to whom we conveyed warm greetings from President Nicolas Maduro and our firm commitment in defense of multilateralism and cooperation for development."

The Venezuelan diplomat also met with Amir Abdolahian during a meeting in which they agreed to design a 20-year roadmap for cooperation between Caracas and Tehran. He added that a joint commission of the two countries would be held in the Iranian capital before the end of this year. 

He also thanked Iranian authorities for their condemnation of the kidnapping by the U.S. of Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab, extradited last October 16 to the United States by the authorities of Cape Verde.

Regarding this fact, Amir Abdolahian described as incorrect and unconstructive the U.S. action in extraditing the Venezuelan citizen, who had been arbitrarily detained in the African nation since July 2020.

There, he was subjected to severe and continuous violations of his human rights, which led to the outward rejection of independent experts of the United Nations, who demanded his release.

Officially accredited as a diplomat, at the time of his arbitrary detention, Saab was traveling to Tehran to manage food, medicines and fuel in aid of Caracas to face the effects of the cruel unilateral restrictive measures imposed by Washington and its allies.