Iran and Venezuela Advocate Strengthening Military Cooperation
Naval squadron coming soon
Iran’s Defense Minister, Amir Hatami, reaffirms from Caracas Tehran’s desire to increase military cooperation with Venezuela.
In a meeting held on Thursday at the headquarters of the Venezuelan Popular Power Ministry for Defense in Caracas, the capital of the Latin American country, Brigadier General Hatami reviewed with his Venezuelan counterpart, Vladimir Padrino López, the state of bilateral relations.
Hatami, who traveled to Venezuela to attend the inauguration of President Nicolás Maduro, said he was proud to attend the official ceremony, while considering the event as a celebration of the victory of the Venezuelan people.
For his part, Padrino López thanked the president of Iran, Hasan Rohani, for the solidarity of his government with President Maduro, who assumed a new term (2019-2025).
The Venezuelan military official detailed that the working meeting seeks to shore up the military cooperation between both nations. The meeting was also attended by the Iranian ambassador in Caracas, Mostafa Alaei.
During his stay in the South American country, Hatami also met with the president of Bolivia, Evo Morales, with whom he renewed the alliance and stressed the need to defend both nations against the interventionist acts of the United States.
Caracas and Tehran maintain a strategic alliance and bilateral cooperation ties in the areas of energy, housing, commerce, industry, environment, education, agriculture, science and technology, sports, culture, among others, since the Bolivarian Revolution began, promoted by the former president Hugo Chávez (1999-2013).
Last December, the subcommander of the Iranian Navy, Rear Admiral Turay Hasani Moqadam, announced the Persian country’s plan to send a naval squadron to Venezuela in the next few months, in a mission that could last five months.
mjs / ktg / ask / hnb
Translated by JRE/ AR
