Zarif in Venezuela: What do mullahs have for Caracas?

Iran’s foreign minister announced his country's intention to
provide assistance to Venezuela in order to help restore calm and security to
the Venezuelan street after arriving in Caracas on Friday, July 19 to
participate in the meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in a
press statement that the Iranian delegation will discuss the economic relations
between the two parties, considering the relationship between the two countries
important in order to form an alliance of independent states to stand against US
policies towards Latin American countries.
Despite statements by the Iranian foreign minister in
support of the Venezuelan regime, he gave no indication of the nature of the
aid Iran’s mullah regime intends to present to Caracas.
The relationship between Venezuela and Iran is not a normal
one because of the economic and financial partnership between them, which makes
the political relationship stronger, expert Norhan Anwar said. Iran does not
want the opposition in Venezuela to act as a wake-up call to the opposition in
Iran by providing a strong example, so Iran considers the victory of the regime
in Venezuela to be a victory for its own regime, she added.
Iran is expected to use its Hezbollah arm to support the
Venezuelan regime because of its significant interests in Venezuela, with the
support of President Nicolas Maduro himself, Anwar said.
She noted that Iran will use its relations with Venezuelan
businessmen to support the regime, including through suspicious activities,
such as with Tareck El Aissami, the former vice president of Venezuela, who has
20 money-laundering operations that can support the regime, while Ayman Joumaa
carried out money-laundering operations worth $200 million, according to the
Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).
Dr. Hisham al-Ali, an Iraqi expert on Iranian affairs, said
that Iran’s provision of assistance to other countries is an act of propaganda
aimed at showing that it is not affected by the US sanctions imposed on it.
Ali added that he does not think the aid will be of value,
given Iran's severe economic crisis, but it is natural that Iran is trying to
intensify its diplomatic activity during this period of increasing tension in
the Gulf region because of its conflict with Washington and the crisis in
Yemen.
In any case, there is progress in favor of Iran in the
political, diplomatic and intelligence fields, with the beginning of
Washington's retreat from its violent policy against Tehran, Ali said, adding
that there are other diplomatic actions Tehran will undertake in its feverish
race with Washington, which is normal under these circumstances.
The crisis in Venezuela erupted on January 23 between incumbent
President Nicolas Maduro –backed by Russia, China and Iran – and National
Assembly President Juan Guaido – supported by the United States and European
countries – who declared himself the transitional president of the country.