An Iranian tanker called Faxon has sailed into Venezuela's waters, becoming the fourth such vessel to arrive there recently.
According to Iran Front Page, the ship is already being escorted by the Venezuelan armed forces while en route to its destination.
Faxon is a part of a five-tanker flotilla dispatched by Iran to the South American country, carrying gasoline and refining components which are meant to help Venezuela deal with a fuel deficit that emerged after its oil sector was hit by crushing US sanctions and asset seizures.
La @ArmadaFANB escolta al buque tanquero FAXON procedente de la República Islámica de Irán, siendo el cuarto Buque cargado con combustible. @NicolasMaduro @vladimirpadrino @CeballosIchaso @PresidencialVE @PrensaFANB @Libertad020 @VTVcanal8 @dcabellor @ActualidadRT @teleSURtv pic.twitter.com/WRY4MpDWcv
— Armada Bolivariana (@ArmadaFANB) May 28, 2020
Faxon, buque tanque iraní, en travesía a puerto venezolano escoltado por PO-13 Yekuana en nuestro Caribe oriental... Es el cuarto y no hay quinto malo..!!! pic.twitter.com/GNEvEfBE6J
— ceconopoi (@ceconopoi) May 28, 2020
4th Iranian tanker in Faxon pic.twitter.com/LsCPYaRSO6
— N South (@nat_ahoy) May 28, 2020
While the United States started tracking the ships as they set sail, and even reportedly threatened to intercept them, Iran warned that any attempt to do so would constitute an “act of piracy,” and that Tehran would have “the right to take the necessary steps to counter [US] threats.”
