Iran, Venezuela Sign 20-Year Cooperation Plan

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi stands next to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Tehran, Iran, June 11, 2022. President Website/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi stands next to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Tehran, Iran, June 11, 2022. President Website/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
TT

Iran, Venezuela Sign 20-Year Cooperation Plan

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi stands next to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Tehran, Iran, June 11, 2022. President Website/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi stands next to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Tehran, Iran, June 11, 2022. President Website/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS

Iran and Venezuela on Saturday signed a 20-year cooperation plan, according to live coverage on Iranian state TV.

The plan includes cooperation in the fields of oil, petrochemicals, tourism, and culture.

The signing ceremony was held in North Tehran’s Saadabad Palace in the presence of visiting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi.

Maduro on his first visit to Iran said Tehran helped his nation by sending badly needed fuel despite US sanctions and threats.

In an interview with Maduro late Friday after his arrival, Iranian state media reported that Maduro hailed Iran’s move to send fuel tankers to his energy-hungry nation.

“Tehran’s delivery of oil to Caracas was a great help to the Venezuelan people,” he said.

A high-ranking political and economic delegation from Venezuela, which like Iran is under heavy US sanctions, is accompanying Maduro on the two-day visit, following an invitation from Raisi.

Maduro said Venezuela and Iran are united by “a common vision” regarding international issues and are both victims of coercive measures by the United States and its allies.

“Caracas and Tehran have shaped the strategy of (a) resistance economy and are working to expand it,” he said.



Putin Discussed Syria Situation with Iran's Pezeshkian by Phone, Says Kremlin

Smoke rises as a member of the rebels led by the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham drives on a motorbike in al-Rashideen, Aleppo province, Syria November 29, 2024. REUTERS/Mahmoud Hasano/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Smoke rises as a member of the rebels led by the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham drives on a motorbike in al-Rashideen, Aleppo province, Syria November 29, 2024. REUTERS/Mahmoud Hasano/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
TT

Putin Discussed Syria Situation with Iran's Pezeshkian by Phone, Says Kremlin

Smoke rises as a member of the rebels led by the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham drives on a motorbike in al-Rashideen, Aleppo province, Syria November 29, 2024. REUTERS/Mahmoud Hasano/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Smoke rises as a member of the rebels led by the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham drives on a motorbike in al-Rashideen, Aleppo province, Syria November 29, 2024. REUTERS/Mahmoud Hasano/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

Russian President Vladimir Putin has discussed the escalating situation in Syria with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian by phone, the Kremlin said on Monday.

"The focus was on the escalating situation in the Syrian Arab Republic," the Kremlin statement said.

"Unconditional support was expressed for the actions of the legitimate authorities of Syria to restore constitutional order and to restore the political, economic and social stability of the Syrian state."

Pezeshkian said his country was ready for any cooperation with Russia to control the regional situation and help resolve the crisis in Syria, according to the Iranian government's website.

"We believe that the recent events are part of a dangerous plan by the United States and the Zionist regime (Israel) to disrupt the geopolitical landscape of the region in favor of Zionists, but this plan will fail thanks to the unity and cooperation of regional countries," Pezeshkian added.

Earlier, the Kremlin said Russia was continuing to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad after his forces lost territory to opposition groups and would see what help was needed to stabilize the situation.

A statement from the Syrian Prime Minister's office on Monday said that Russian and Syrian aircraft were striking opposition-held positions in Aleppo's eastern countryside, killing and wounding dozens of fighters.

Russia, a staunch Assad ally, intervened militarily on his side against anti-government factions in 2015 in its biggest foray in the Middle East since the Soviet Union's collapse, and maintains an airbase and naval facility in Syria.

The Kremlin said on Friday it wanted the Syrian government to restore constitutional order as soon as possible and regarded the opposition attack as a violation of Syria's sovereignty.

Asked on Monday whether Russia planned to increase its support for Assad, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "We continue to support Bashar Al-Assad. Contacts are continuing at the appropriate levels.

"We are analyzing the situation and a position will be formed on what is needed to stabilize the situation."

Russian military bloggers said on Sunday that Moscow has dismissed Sergei Kisel, the general in charge of its forces in Syria, and replaced him with Colonel General Alexander Chaiko.

There was no official confirmation from the Russian Defense Ministry of such a change.

Assad has vowed to crush the opposition fighters - a coalition of Türkiye-backed mainstream secular armed groups along with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.

The opposition seized control of all of Idlib province in recent days, the boldest assault for years in a civil war where front lines had largely been frozen since 2020.

They also swept into the city of Aleppo, east of Idlib, on Friday night, forcing the army to redeploy.