United National Antiwar Coalition denounces any attempts by the US to
stop shipments of Iranian fuel to Venezuela
https://socialistaction.org/2020/05/27/united-national-antiwar-coalition-denounces-any-attempts-by-the-us-to-stop-shipments-of-iranian-fuel-to-venezuela/
May 27, 2020
Press release issued 5/20/20
Last week, an Iran-flagged tanker passed the Suez Canal, reportedly
bound for Venezuela with a shipment of refined fuel. Despite having the
largest proven oil reserves in the world, Venezuela’s refining capacity
has been damaged by the US embargo, greatly hindering its economy. US
officials have claimed that Venezuela has begun to purchase fuel from
Iran directly with gold, thereby bypassing US-controlled imperialist
trade mechanisms.
Four additional Iran-flagged tankers loaded with refined fuel are
reportedly following the first. According to an anonymous US official
quoted by Reuters, the US “is considering measures it could take in
response.” This comes against the backdrop of the large escalation of US
Navy presence in the Caribbean Sea ordered by President Trump in April,
ostensibly to combat “narcotrafficking” but widely understood to be a
military buildup specifically to threaten Venezuela.
US military threats against these oil shipments pose a threat to the
entire world. Coercive economic measures imposed by the US on Venezuela
and Iran already amount to acts of war against those nations. US
military action on the high seas to stop these fuel shipments would
deepen the level of conflict and escalate it onto a global scale. It
would also be an act of piracy, interfering with normal and perfectly
legal trade between two independent nations.
A world where a hegemonic US superpower acts unilaterally, arbitrarily,
and with no accountability, is a world that is dangerous and
unsustainable. UNAC believes that US imperialism is the greatest
obstacle to peace and social progress for humanity globally. Ongoing US
sanctions, provocations and terrorist plots against Venezuela and Iran
are already acts of war against those nations’ people, but each further
attempt threatens to bring about a new level of open violence.
UNAC stands in solidarity with Venezuela and Iran in their efforts to
construct nations independent of US imperialism and a world guided by
the right of nations to self-determination. We demand that the U.S.
ceases all militaristic rhetoric and actions toward Iran and Venezuela,
including sanctions, and that it follows international law with regard
to free and open seas. We call on our member organizations to
unequivocally oppose US acts of aggression against Iran and Venezuela,
and to continue laying groundwork for mass local actions in the event of
military escalation.
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