Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh in a report by news agency IRNA on June 28 said that the country sold gasoline to Venezuela under a commercial deal at current prices and not for free. Zanganeh said that the shipments were not charity. Zanganeh’s statement contradicts some comments internally saying that the cargoes are Iran’s free assistance for its political ally.
Last week, Washington imposed sanctions to five tanker captains who delivered about 1.5 million barrels of Iranian gasoline to Venezuela. Zanganeh said that the captains were aware of it and did not accept promised money by the US. Zanganeh also suggested that trade with Venezuela would continue.
