Iran Says ‘All Options’ on Table if US Hinders Fuel Shipments to Venezuela

The aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower conducts a combined air wing operation with a B-52 Bomber from US Air Forces Central Command in the Arabian Sea, March 18, 2020. (Central Command)
The aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower conducts a combined air wing operation with a B-52 Bomber from US Air Forces Central Command in the Arabian Sea, March 18, 2020. (Central Command)
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Iran Says ‘All Options’ on Table if US Hinders Fuel Shipments to Venezuela

The aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower conducts a combined air wing operation with a B-52 Bomber from US Air Forces Central Command in the Arabian Sea, March 18, 2020. (Central Command)
The aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower conducts a combined air wing operation with a B-52 Bomber from US Air Forces Central Command in the Arabian Sea, March 18, 2020. (Central Command)

The Iranian government announced that all options are available in response to any American move against its five oil tankers bound to Venezuela to transport fuel, in defiance of US sanctions.

For the second time in a week, government spokesman Ali Rabiei stated Iran’s desire to continue exporting oil to Venezuela and establishing trade relations with Caracas, which is under US sanctions.

“No country is required to comply with the United States’ unilateral sanctions,” he stressed.

In response to a question on Iran’s possible response to US threats to prevent oil exports from Iran to Venezuela, the official said his country wants to be assured of the absence of US “piracy”.

He expressed hope that the international community would take a step in this regard.

“We hope that America does not make such a mistake … If they take any action, we reserve the right to respond and will respond accordingly,” Rabiei noted.

At least one tanker carrying fuel loaded at an Iranian port has set sail for Venezuela, according to vessel tracking data from Refinitiv Eikon last week, which could help ease an acute scarcity of gasoline in the South American country.

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abbas Mousavi warned Monday that that the US will receive a “serious response” from Iran if it carries out any action against its oil tankers.

“I hope that the Americans will not do anything stupid, because that will face a serious response from Iran,” the semi-official ISNA news agency quoted him as saying.

“The activities of these ships are completely official and legal. In fact, this is being done within the framework of free trade, and there is no legal obstacle to doing this legitimate trade.”

He described threats by US officials as “shameless,” stressing that “any US response against the legal navigation of our ships will be met with a decisive response, and America shall bear its repercussions.”

Iran complained to the United Nations on Sunday and summoned the Swiss ambassador in Tehran, who represents US interests in the country, over possible measures Washington could take against the fuel shipment to Venezuela.

A senior official in President Donald Trump’s administration told Reuters on Thursday Washington was considering measures it could take in response to Iran.

Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi passed on a message to the ambassador warning against any US threat against the tankers, according to a report on the foreign ministry website.

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also wrote a letter to UN chief Antonio Guterres warning that any American measures against the shipment would be dangerous, illegal and a form of piracy, the report added.



German-Iranian Women’s Rights Activist Released from Iranian Prison

09 January 2024, Iran, Tehran: German-Iranian Nahid Taghavi sits on a couch after her temporary release from the notorious Ewin prison in Tehran. (dpa)
09 January 2024, Iran, Tehran: German-Iranian Nahid Taghavi sits on a couch after her temporary release from the notorious Ewin prison in Tehran. (dpa)
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German-Iranian Women’s Rights Activist Released from Iranian Prison

09 January 2024, Iran, Tehran: German-Iranian Nahid Taghavi sits on a couch after her temporary release from the notorious Ewin prison in Tehran. (dpa)
09 January 2024, Iran, Tehran: German-Iranian Nahid Taghavi sits on a couch after her temporary release from the notorious Ewin prison in Tehran. (dpa)

Nahid Taghavi, an Iranian-German women's rights activist, has been released from prison and is back in Germany after more than four years incarceration in Iran, Amnesty International said on Monday.

The release of Taghavi followed concerns about the 70-year-old's health and calls from rights groups on the German government to pressure Tehran on the case.

Taghavi was detained in October 2020 during a visit to Tehran and later sentenced to 10 years and eight months in prison for her alleged involvement in an illegal group and for propaganda against the state. Amnesty called the charges fabricated

"My mum is finally home. Words are not enough to describe our joy. At the same time, we mourn the four years we were robbed of and the horror she experienced in Evin prison," her daughter Mariam Claren said in a statement.

The rights group said Taghavi was tortured during her time in prison and held in solitary confinement.

The activist landed safely in Germany on Sunday, Amnesty said, calling for many more releases to follow in Iran.

Iran's judiciary was not immediately available for comment.

"A great moment of joy that Nahid Taghavi can finally embrace her family again," German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said in a post on X.

Germany has clashed with Iran in the past over its jailing of dual citizens and criticized its human rights record. In October, Berlin recalled its ambassador to Iran over the execution of German-Iranian national Jamshid Sharmahd.

Last week Iran freed Italian journalist Cecilia Sala, three weeks after she was detained in Tehran during a reporting trip.