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A6 WORLD NEWS
Monday 13 June 2022
Venezuelan leader, Iranian president sign 20-year agreement

By AMIR VAHDAT Turkey is one of a handful of
Associated Press places around the world —
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Ven- Russia and Iran are among
ezuelan leader Nicolas them — where Maduro is
Maduro and Iran's hard- welcome amid U.S. sanc-
line president signed a 20- tions on his country.
year cooperation agree- Venezuela, Cuba and Ni-
ment Saturday, a day after caragua were not invited
Maduro praised the Islamic to the summit by the Biden
Republic for sending badly administration due to their
needed fuel to his nation authoritarianism and hu-
despite U.S. sanctions. man rights violations. That
In an interview with Presi- decision led to Mexico's
dent Maduro after his ar- president announcing he
rival in Tehran for a two-day would not attend.
visit, Iranian state media Raisi praised Maduro as a
reported late Friday that leader "who has shown a
Maduro hailed Iran's move policy of fighting against
to send fuel tankers to his imperialism and has
energy-hungry nation. achieved a good position
"Tehran's delivery of oil to by overcoming sanctions
Caracas was a great help Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, right, speaks in a joint news briefing with his Venezuelan counter- and threats."
to the Venezuelan people," part Nicolas Maduro at the Saadabad Palace in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, June 11, 2022. Maduro announced that a
he said. Associated Press direct flight between Teh-
Maduro's first visit to Iran ran and Caracas would
comes amid tensions hard-line President Ebrahim war of sanctions and find tries showed that the only begin next month.
across the Middle East Raisi. ways to counter them with way to face the United The semi-official Tasnim
over the collapse of Iran's In a joint press conference steadfastness."Maduro said States' pressures and wars is news agency later report-
nuclear deal with world Saturday, Raisi and Madu- Venezuela and Iran are "to resist." He thanked Mad- ed that Iran had delivered
powers. U.S. sanctions and ro signed a 20-year agree- united by "a common vi- uro and the people of Ven- the oil tanker Aframax-2 to
rising global food prices are ment to expand ties in the sion" on international issues ezuela for their resistance, Venezuelan officials, the
choking Iran's ailing econo- oil and petrochemical in- and are both victims of saying that "today, the Unit- second of four vessels Iran
my, putting further pressure dustries, the military and coercive measures by the ed States views Venezuela was contracted to build for
on its government and its the economy. United States and its allies. differently." the South American coun-
people. Iranian English-language "Caracas and Tehran have Maduro is on a Eurasia tour try.
A high-ranking political PressTV quoted Maduro shaped the strategy of (a) after President Joe Biden Amid rising tensions with
and economic delegation before the news confer- resistance economy and decided not to invite him the West, Iran has started
from Venezuela — which ence as saying the two are working to expand it," to the Summit of the Ameri- removing 27 surveillance
like Iran is under heavy U.S. men would meet to dis- he said. cas, which began Thurs- cameras from nuclear sites
sanctions — is accompa- cuss "the need to well in- On his website, Khamenei day. His stops earlier this across the country, the
nying Maduro on his visit, form the Iranian and Ven- said that the successful ex- week included Algeria and head of the U.N. atomic
following an invitation from ezuelan nations about the perience of the two coun- Turkey. watchdog said Thursday.q

Lawmakers from Iraq's biggest bloc resign amid impasse

based on his request, to 73 out of Parliament's 329 country and the people, he
protest a persisting political seats, and was a blow for decided to proceed with
deadlock eight months af- his Iran-backed Shiite rivals, this decision," he posted.
ter general elections were who lost about two-thirds It was not immediately
held. of their seats and have re- clear how the resignation
Parliament Speaker Mo- jected the results. of the biggest bloc in par-
hammed Halbousi accept- Al-Sadr has been intent on liament would play out. A
ed their resignation. forming, along with his al- veteran Iraqi politician ex-
Al-Sadr, a maverick leader lies, a majority government pressed concern that the
remembered for leading that excludes them. But he resignations could lead to
an insurgency against U.S. has not been able to cor- chaos in the country.
forces after the 2003 inva- ral enough lawmakers to According to Iraqi laws, if
sion, emerged as the win- parliament to get the two- any seat in parliament be-
ner in the election held in thirds majority needed to comes vacant, the candi-
October. elect Iraq's next president date who obtains the sec-
Populist Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, speaks during a mews The election was held sev- — a necessary step ahead ond highest number votes
conference in Najaf, Iraq, Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021. eral months earlier than ex- of naming the next prime in their electoral district
Associated Press pected, in response to mass minister and selecting a would replace them.
protests that broke out in Cabinet. This would benefit al-Sa-
By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA political impasse, plunging late 2019, and saw tens of Speaker Halbousi tweeted dr's opponents from the
Associated Press the divided nation into po- thousands rally against en- later that he "reluctantly" so-called Coordination
BAGHDAD (AP) — Dozens litical uncertainty. demic corruption, poor ser- accepted the resignations Framework, a coalition led
of lawmakers who make The 73 lawmakers from vices and unemployment. based on al-Sadr's wishes by Iran-backed Shiite par-
up the biggest bloc in Iraq's powerful Shiite cleric The vote brought victory and after sincere efforts to ties, and their allies - some-
parliament resigned on Muqtada al-Sadr's bloc for powerful Shiite cleric discourage him from this thing al-Sadr would be un-
Sunday amid a prolonged submitted their resignation Muqtada al-Sadr who won step. "For the sake of the likely to accept.q