ID :
187169
Wed, 06/08/2011 - 10:19
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/187169
The shortlink copeid
Venezuela Severs Ties with US over Iran
TEHRAN (FNA)- Venezuela officials announced that the country has cut its ties with the US after Washington imposed sanctions against Venezuela's state-owned oil company for supplying gasoline to Iran.
According to examiner.com, Venezuela officially "froze" relations with the United States on Sunday, a top diplomat from President Hugo Chavez's government said.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro also hinted that re-establishing relations with the US would be "impossible."
On May 24, the US imposed sanctions against Venezuela's giant oil company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) for supplying Iran with gasoline and other refined oil products.
Under the sanctions, PDVSA is denied US government contracts and banned from Washington's export financing.
Maduro had earlier described the sanctions as "illegal, abusive measures taken by this weak government of the United States."
Venezuela's Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez, who is also the head of PDVSA, said on May 25 that Venezuela would continue to maintain relations with Iran and any other country it wants.
"This is a right we are not going to renounce," Ramirez said.
Approximately 26 percent of Venezuela's imports are from the United States. Venezuela is one of the United States' main suppliers of petroleum, selling it about 1 million barrels of oil per day.
The UN Security Council adopted a fourth round of sanctions against Tehran in 2010 under intense pressure from the US, which claims Iran's nuclear program may have potential military aspects. Iran has repeatedly refuted the allegations.
Shortly after the UN sanctions, the US imposed fresh unilateral sanctions against Iran's financial and energy sectors.
The US Senate has recently passed a legislation to expand sanctions on foreign companies that invest in Iran's energy sector and those foreign companies that sell refined petroleum to Iran or help develop its refining capacity.
The bill, which later received the approval of the House of Representatives, says companies that continue to sell gasoline and other refined oil products to Iran will be banned from receiving Energy Department contracts to deliver crude to the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The bill was then signed into law by US President Barack Obama.
Meanwhile, statistical figures show that the number of the country willing to ignore the US sanction and warning on fuel supplies to Iran has been on the increase in recent months.
Iran and the US are at loggerheads over Tehran's nuclear program. Iran says its nuclear program is a peaceful drive to produce electricity so that the world's fourth-largest crude exporter can sell more of its oil and gas abroad and provide power to the growing number of Iranian population, whose fossil fuel would eventually run dry.
The US and its western allies allege that Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapons program while they have never presented corroborative evidence to substantiate their allegations against the Islamic Republic.
According to examiner.com, Venezuela officially "froze" relations with the United States on Sunday, a top diplomat from President Hugo Chavez's government said.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro also hinted that re-establishing relations with the US would be "impossible."
On May 24, the US imposed sanctions against Venezuela's giant oil company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) for supplying Iran with gasoline and other refined oil products.
Under the sanctions, PDVSA is denied US government contracts and banned from Washington's export financing.
Maduro had earlier described the sanctions as "illegal, abusive measures taken by this weak government of the United States."
Venezuela's Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez, who is also the head of PDVSA, said on May 25 that Venezuela would continue to maintain relations with Iran and any other country it wants.
"This is a right we are not going to renounce," Ramirez said.
Approximately 26 percent of Venezuela's imports are from the United States. Venezuela is one of the United States' main suppliers of petroleum, selling it about 1 million barrels of oil per day.
The UN Security Council adopted a fourth round of sanctions against Tehran in 2010 under intense pressure from the US, which claims Iran's nuclear program may have potential military aspects. Iran has repeatedly refuted the allegations.
Shortly after the UN sanctions, the US imposed fresh unilateral sanctions against Iran's financial and energy sectors.
The US Senate has recently passed a legislation to expand sanctions on foreign companies that invest in Iran's energy sector and those foreign companies that sell refined petroleum to Iran or help develop its refining capacity.
The bill, which later received the approval of the House of Representatives, says companies that continue to sell gasoline and other refined oil products to Iran will be banned from receiving Energy Department contracts to deliver crude to the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The bill was then signed into law by US President Barack Obama.
Meanwhile, statistical figures show that the number of the country willing to ignore the US sanction and warning on fuel supplies to Iran has been on the increase in recent months.
Iran and the US are at loggerheads over Tehran's nuclear program. Iran says its nuclear program is a peaceful drive to produce electricity so that the world's fourth-largest crude exporter can sell more of its oil and gas abroad and provide power to the growing number of Iranian population, whose fossil fuel would eventually run dry.
The US and its western allies allege that Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapons program while they have never presented corroborative evidence to substantiate their allegations against the Islamic Republic.
