TEHRAN, Iran, June 26
Trend:
Venezuela has paid part of its payment to Iran for the sale of gasoline, said Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zangeneh, Trend reports citing IRNA.
"There have been rumors about Iran's gasoline sale, claiming it was given for free, but it isn't true. Iran has sold gasoline based on the price of the day, and received sufficient guarantee from Venezuela," he said.
"Iran is doing business with Venezuela, and to continue export we should see how negotiations would progress," he said.
Zangeneh also spoke on the sanctions imposed against Iranian oil tanker captains.
"The sanctions against oil tanker captains was not unprecedented. At first they (the US) promised money to captains that was not accepted, and then they were threatened to be sanctioned," he said.
The US Treasury Department on June 24 sanctioned five oil tanker captains for delivering 1.5 million barrels of Iranian gasoline and related supplies to Venezuela earlier this year.
Venezuela turned to Iran, another target of US oil sanctions, to meet domestic gasoline demand as the South American country's crude production and refining capabilities have crumbled in the face of US sanctions and dire economic turmoil.
Treasury named the captains as Ali Danaei Kenarsari, Mohsen Gohardehi, Alireza Rahnavard, Reza Vaziri and Hamidreza Yahya Zadeh of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines.