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Iran foreign minister, in ally Venezuela, says US no longer 'controls world'

November 5, 2020 at 10:16 pm

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (L) meets the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei during his visit in Tehran, Iran on 22 October 2016 [Supreme Leader Press Office/Anadolu Agency]

Iran believes the US government no longer can “control what’s happening in the world” or show other countries how to protect citizens’ rights, the Iranian foreign minister said on Thursday during a visit to ally Venezuela.

Speaking two days after the US presidential election, Mohammad Javad Zarif said the era of “Western hegemony had ended” as he praised Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro for resisting a US-coordinated campaign to oust him.

Iran has become a key ally for Maduro as his authoritarian government has weathered crippling financial sanctions and international isolation. Faced with the collapse of a once-potent oil industry, Maduro has turned to Iran to buy gasoline to keep supplying Venezuelan consumers.

“Today, the United States and its allies can’t control what’s happening in the world. They’ve lost control,” Zarif told a forum in Caracas, alongside his Venezuelan counterpart, Jorge Arreaza.

Arreaza described Venezuela’s relationship with Iran as at a “climax” and said the Maduro administration could in future acquire Iranian weapons if it was considered necessary.

READ: Iran foreign minister arrives in Venezuela to start Latin America tour