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<font size="1"><a href="https://orinocotribune.com/is-iran-sending-gasoline-left-overs-to-venezuela-and-is-it-not-affected-by-us-sanctions-as-guaido-claims/">https://orinocotribune.com/is-iran-sending-gasoline-left-overs-to-venezuela-and-is-it-not-affected-by-us-sanctions-as-guaido-claims/</a>
</font><h1 class="gmail-reader-title">Is Iran Sending Gasoline Left Overs to Venezuela and is it Not Affected by US Sanctions as Guaido Claims?</h1></div>
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<div class="gmail-moz-reader-content gmail-line-height4 gmail-reader-show-element"><div id="gmail-readability-page-1" class="gmail-page"><div><p>By Mision Verdad – May 24, 2020</p><p id="gmail-2416">Undoubtedly,
the shipment of five Iranian tankers loaded with gasoline and chemical
additives to the Venezuelan refineries represents the most relevant
event so far this year in the South American country.</p><p id="gmail-238b">The
staggered path and arrival of these five ships has a remarkable
geopolitical implication: cooperation between the Islamic Republic of
Iran and Venezuela on oil has challenged the US embargo and has placed
the Trump Administration in a difficult position to defend in public
opinion his “maximum pressure” campaign which includes the use of
aggressive economic sanctions with the purpose of stifling the social
life of the Venezuelan and Iranian populations.</p><p id="gmail-6cea">Tension
was the common attribute of this week, and as ships neared the
Caribbean Sea, speculation grew as to whether the United States would
directly retaliate against the ships, as a US official had already told <em>Reuters</em> on condition of anonymity.</p><p id="gmail-9b94">However,
until the last ship arrives and unloads its contents in Venezuelan
territory, it cannot be safely stated that Washington will not take any
action, taking advantage of the <a href="https://elpitazo.net/internacional/fuerzas-navales-de-ee-uu-despliegan-buque-uss-detroit-en-el-caribe/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow noreferrer">Air</a> Command <a href="https://elpitazo.net/internacional/fuerzas-navales-de-ee-uu-despliegan-buque-uss-detroit-en-el-caribe/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow noreferrer">deployment</a>
in the Caribbean Sea of the Southern Command ordered by Trump in the
framework of an alleged anti-narcotics operation in early April.</p><p id="gmail-d9e2">From different main stream media outlets, information began to emerge that indicated that <a href="https://www.voanoticias.com/venezuela/eeuu-dice-opciones-llegada-tanqueros-iranies-venezuela" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow noreferrer">actions could be taken</a>
to interfere with the destination of the tankers, given that both
countries are subject to illegal sanctions that have tried to hinder the
marketing of their oil products.</p><p><a href="https://orinocotribune.com/do-you-want-gasoline-now/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">RELATED CONTENT: Do You Want Gasoline Now?</a></p><div><div><div><div><img alt="Is Iran Sending Gasoline Left Overs to Venezuela and is it Not Affected by US Sanctions as Guaido Claims?" src="https://i1.wp.com/miro.medium.com/max/2253/1*NNiob7azYfu7ak8W1bpaPw.jpeg?resize=800%2C742&ssl=1" style="margin-right: 25px;" width="452" height="419">The Iranian ship Fortune is escorted by the patrol vessel PO-13 AB Yekuana of the Venezuelan Navy. Photo: Ceofanb</div></div></div></div><p id="gmail-cea1">At
the United Nations, Iran and Venezuela warned of this possibility and
the implications it would have. The Venezuelan Navy and Aviation
announced that they would escort the ships to guarantee their safe
access to the country’s territorial waters.</p><p id="gmail-2b69">The vessel the Fortune, the first of five tankers that have traveled more than 12,000 kilometers, <a href="https://twitter.com/Eiranencaracas/status/1264594880317325314" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow noreferrer">has already entered Venezuela</a>
and is heading to the El Palito refinery, located in the central region
of Venezuela. The rest of the flotilla sent from the Persian country is
expected to enter the country in the next few hours and days.</p><div><div><div><div><img alt="Is Iran Sending Gasoline Left Overs to Venezuela and is it Not Affected by US Sanctions as Guaido Claims?" src="https://i2.wp.com/miro.medium.com/max/2253/1*NYE2kuFYMDcbP0fqgGShYw.jpeg?resize=800%2C450&ssl=1" style="margin-right: 25px;" width="452" height="254">The Iranian ship Fortune is escorted by the patrol vessel PO-13 AB Yekuana of the Venezuelan Navy. Photo: Ceofanb</div></div></div></div><p id="e523">The issue of Iranian ships positioned itself at the center of the political and media agenda, drawing reactions of all kinds.</p><p id="gmail-d18e">As
is already a custom, the extremist wing of anti-Chavismo represented by
the deputy Juan Guaidó questioned the shipment of gasoline and stressed
its blind support for the campaign of “maximum pressure” in Washington
that has caused the gasoline shortage in the country, affecting the
transportation of food, medicine and Covid-19 patients.</p><p id="gmail-2105">Juan
Guaidó issued a statement to align his story and warm up his fans. With
the usual juggling, the statement demonized Iran (linking it without
evidence to “international terrorism”) and underestimated the damaging
power of illegal sanctions against the Persian country.</p><p id="gmail-b9da">In
Guaidó’s logic, the shipment of gasoline from Iran “demonstrated” that
the sanctions do not have a negative impact on the oil activities of
both countries. This was a new attempt to blame the current management
of fuel shortages on the Venezuelan government.</p><p id="gmail-9f78">The
text suggests that Iran has plenty of gasoline and that Washington
sanctions have not affected its oil production and refining activities.</p><p id="gmail-baed">However,
this narrative driven by Guaidó does not survive a fact check. He lies,
again, with the purpose of laundering the negative effects that the
escalation of the sanctions have brought, under his imaginary
presidency.</p><p id="gmail-dfab">Iran has been
the victim of sanctions since 1979, with some periods of relaxation and
tightening as the Western geopolitical agenda has advanced to destroy
the regional leadership of the Persian nation.</p><p><a href="https://orinocotribune.com/photo-gallery-el-aissami-received-iranian-tanker-fortune-in-el-palito-refinery/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">RELATED CONTENT: Photo Gallery: El Aissami Received Iranian Tanker “Fortune” in “El Palito” Refinery</a></p><p id="gmail-96b4">In 2009, with Venezuelan cooperation in oil matters promoted by President Hugo Chávez, Venezuela <a href="https://amp.20minutos.es/noticia/511602/0/gasolina/iran/venezuela/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow noreferrer">agreed to the daily shipment of 20 thousand barrels of gasoline</a>, due to the weakened refining capacity of the Islamic Republic.</p><div><div><div><div><img alt="Is Iran Sending Gasoline Left Overs to Venezuela and is it Not Affected by US Sanctions as Guaido Claims?" src="https://i2.wp.com/miro.medium.com/max/7709/1*NWzi0_Tbu8IdLOpn2ygcGw.jpeg?resize=800%2C533&ssl=1" style="margin-right: 25px;" width="452" height="301">Mahmud Ahmadineyad and Hugo Chávez during an official meeting in Tehran: Archive</div></div></div></div><p id="gmail-172e">This
would be a conjunctural support as Iran searched for alternatives to
increase its fuel production capacity due to sanctions against the
Mahmud Ahmadinejad government.</p><p id="gmail-bda4">At the time, Iran imported 40% of the gasoline it consumed.</p><p id="gmail-748d">From
that year to the present the situation has not changed so much. The
sanctions tightened during the Trump Administration have hurt the
Iranian oil industry substantially.</p><p id="gmail-b642">10 days ago, <a href="https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/US-Sanctions-Have-Crippled-Iranian-Oil-Production.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow noreferrer">a report</a> by the consultants at <em>Oil Price</em>,
indicated that “Due to the sanctions, at least a quarter of the oil
platforms, or 40 out of 160, in Iran are now out of service, either
inactive or under repair, according to <em>Reuters</em>, citing financial documents and industry sources.”</p><p id="gmail-791f">“The
US sanctions on Iran’s oil sector are impacting the Islamic Republic’s
ability to potentially increase production in the long term,” concludes <em>Oil Price</em>.</p><p id="gmail-7c06">Washington’s measures have caused <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/business/iranian-oil-production-down-by-12/story-ec2pzV8YWIvbx7yX1nbX4O.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow noreferrer">Iran’s oil production to drop 12% so far this year,</a> while the country’s authorities expect this figure to drop much more by the end of the year. This would be <a href="https://www.iranfocus.com/en/economy/34437-iran-s-oil-production-down-52-000-bpd-in-one-month" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow noreferrer">the most aggressive drop</a> since the war with Iraq in the 1980s.</p><p id="gmail-4d75">As oil production has fallen, so has gasoline refining. At the end of last year, <a href="https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-imposes-gasoline-rationing-raises-fuel-prices-us-sanctions/30272889.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow noreferrer">Iran set a 60-liter limit</a>
on gasoline consumption for each vehicle, with the aim of rationing the
fuel. The year 2019 was marked by the lines for gasoline in the Persian
country, a fact that evidence the negative effects of US sanctions.</p><div><div><div><div><img alt="Is Iran Sending Gasoline Left Overs to Venezuela and is it Not Affected by US Sanctions as Guaido Claims?" src="https://i2.wp.com/miro.medium.com/max/4400/1*ejiS8XGbJcSCZ4DoDkpB3A.jpeg?resize=800%2C532&ssl=1" style="margin-right: 25px;" width="452" height="301">Iran’s refineries have been affected by the sanctions, recalling their ability to produce fuel. Photo: The Fuse</div></div></div></div><p id="gmail-ce5b">A
European media outlet reported at the end of last year that the country
“has enormous energy reserves, but is struggling to meet its national
fuel needs due to a lack of refining capacity. International sanctions
add to the problem by limiting the supply of spare parts to repair and
improve facilities.”</p><p id="gmail-7fe9">The government was also forced <a href="https://www.spglobal.com/platts/en/market-insights/podcasts/focus/051920-back-in-black-oil-opec-recovery-coronavirus" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow noreferrer">to increase the price of gasoline</a> as a measure to relax domestic consumption and keep up production in its refining sector affected by the sanctions.</p><p id="gmail-13b0">In
this sense, Iran does not have plenty of gasoline to send to Venezuela
and its fuel exports to neighboring countries (Iraq and Afghanistan) can
be counted on one hand. The ships sent to Venezuela represent a titanic
effort for the Persian nation.</p><p id="gmail-b130">US sanctions have affected Iran’s refineries and oil production, as has happened in Venezuela in recent years.</p><p id="gmail-dfe1">Guaidó’s attempt to launder Washington’s sanctions is based on a lie. Again.</p><p><em>Featured image: Photo: The Australian</em></p><p><a href="https://medium.com/@misionverdad2012/a-ir%C3%A1n-le-sobra-la-gasolina-que-env%C3%ADa-a-venezuela-y-no-le-afectan-las-sanciones-como-afirma-c84a615d9b78" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Source URL: Mision Verdad</a></p><p>Translated by JRE/EF</p><div><p><br></p></div></div></div></div>
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