"The successful experience of the two countries showed that the only way to face these pressures [from the United States] is resistance," the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said during a meeting with the visiting President of Venezuela Nicola Maduro and his accompanying delegation in Tehran on Saturday afternoon after referring to the resistance of Iran and Venezuela against the heavy pressures and the multi-faceted war waged by the United States.
Pointing to the victory of the Venezuelan government and people in the fierce struggle against the United States and the all-out and full-fledged war waged against Venezuela, Ayatollah Khamenei told Mr. Maduro that "Your Excellency and the people of Venezuela's resistance is very commendable because it enhances the dignity, value, and merits of a nation, a country and its leaders, and because of this, today the US perspective of Venezuela is different as compared to the past."
Ayatollah Khamenei also referred to the scientific and technological progress and initiatives that the Islamic Republic of Iran has made in recent years and pointed out that all that progress has been made while the toughest and most unprecedented sanctions and pressures were imposed on the Iranian nation in the form of what the Americans described it as "Maximum Pressure Campaign."
He emphasized that the Iranian people's resistance defeated the Maximum Pressure Campaign in a way that one of the prominent political officials of the United States recently used "disgraceful defeat" to describe the defeat.
"The success of the two nations of Iran and Venezuela proved that the only way to tackle the pressures is to resist and be steadfast, while the cooperation and relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the government of Venezuela should be strengthened and tightened."
Welcoming the signing of a 20-year cooperation document between Iran and Venezuela during the Tehran visit, the Leader said, "Long-term cooperation requires follow-ups on agreements and their implementation."
Referring to the cordial cooperation between Iran and Venezuela, he noted that one cannot find two countries that have such close relations as Iran and Venezuela, adding that the Islamic Republic of Iran has shown that it takes risks in times of danger and lends a hand to its friends."
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution also praised Mr. Maduro's anti-Zionist stances and said, "Your recent stances against the Zionist regime were very genuine and brave."
During the meeting, the Venezuelan president expressed his gratitude for Iran's support for the people of his country in their hard struggle against the US pressures.
He pointed to the dire economic situation that Venezuela has been facing in recent years, and said the US has started a gradual war of attrition and multifaceted warfare against his country.
"But we were able to resist and take advantage of the opportunities that the sanctions gave to us to launch a full-scale counterattack against the US invasion, and now the situation in Venezuela is better than it was a few years ago," President Maduro pointed out.
Referring to his talks in Tehran and the signing of the 20-year partnership document with Tehran, he added, "We are drawing up a detailed roadmap for cooperation with Iran in various fields, science and technology areas in particular."
The Venezuelan president also stressed that his country considers the issue of Palestine a sacred human issue, saying that because of that viewpoint, the Zionist regime of Israel is continuing to design plots against Venezuela through Mossad.
The Venezuelan president and his high-ranking accompanying delegation arrived in Tehran on Friday afternoon for a two-day visit at the official invitation of his Iranian counterpart to hold meetings with high-ranking Iranian officials.
Maduro met with his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raeisi and then the two presidents attended a press conference earlier on Saturday.
The President Ebrahim Raeisi was also present in Maduro's meeting with the Leader.
Raeisi and Maduro signed a 20-year partnership agreement aimed at bolstering cooperation in various fields between the two countries.
KI/Live