Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf, Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly of Iran, upon his arrival this Sunday at Simón Bolívar Maiquetía International Airport in La Guaira. Photo: VTV
Guacamaya, June 2, 2025. The Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf, arrived in Caracas this Sunday with the intention of deepening the bilateral relationship between the two countries. The visit takes place amid an international context marked by sanctions and isolation, and therefore aims to project a geopolitically significant strategic alliance.
The legislator, who arrived Sunday morning at Simón Bolívar Maiquetía International Airport, was received by Venezuela’s Foreign Minister, Yván Gil. The agenda included a floral offering at the National Pantheon before the remains of Simón Bolívar; participation in the Venezuela-Iran Business Meeting at the Eurobuilding Hotel; and a dinner at the Miraflores Palace.
During the Venezuela-Iran Business Meeting held in the Emerald Room of the Eurobuilding Hotel, the Minister of Transport and co-chair of the High-Level Joint Commission, Ramón Velásquez Araguayán, announced the upcoming establishment in Venezuela of a fiber optic factory managed by the company MDC, describing it as “a major advance for telecommunications relations.”
Additionally, Araguayán highlighted the inauguration of the first hemodialysis room equipped with Iranian technology, providing renal patients with an accessible and technological option for their treatments. He also announced the imminent opening of the Iran-Venezuela Scientific Center, a space intended to showcase Iranian technology and facilitate commercial and technological exchange.
“Through this meeting, we hope to resolve obstacles that may hinder economic growth and exchange between both countries, so that the Iranian-Venezuelan private and public sectors do not face difficulties in forming a commercial structure that represents true integration,” emphasized Araguayán following the meeting with the delegation led by Ghalibaf.
A relationship under international pressure
The bilateral relationship has gained special relevance since the government of Hugo Chávez and is now defined as a “strategic alliance.” Venezuela and Iran share an ideological affinity and a common narrative based on “anti-imperialist struggle” and rejection of U.S. hegemony. Both countries face pressures from economic sanctions imposed by Washington and the European Union.
Cooperation between the two nations has been established across multiple sectors, especially in energy, marked by the export of refined products and technology from Iran to Venezuela to overcome the Caribbean country’s oil crisis. Iran, in turn, has received crude oil and agricultural products from Venezuela, as well as payments for technical services in gold.
The alliance has extended to other fields such as health. Recently, last Friday, Venezuela received a shipment of more than 2.4 million vaccines from Iran. The construction of refineries, industrial infrastructure, and the development of agricultural projects have also been essential elements of the collaboration, encompassing over 250 agreements in recent decades.
For Venezuela, the alliance with the Asian country represents an alternative amid isolation and sanctions, as well as a way to keep strategic sectors like energy and agriculture afloat. For Iran, the South American country is a key partner in Latin America, especially in a context where its alliances in the Middle East have been limited.
