TEHRAN, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Iran's minister of petroleum said on Friday that the continuation of Iran's gasoline exports to Venezuela depends on the negotiations between the two countries, official IRNA news agency reported.
Referring to the recent sale of five tankers of fuel to the Latin American country, Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said that Iran has sold gasoline to Venezuela at market price.
Iran has received part of the money for the exports, and Venezuela has provided necessary guarantees for paying the balance, said the Iranian minister.
As for the U.S. sanctions on five Iranian captains who shipped gasoline to Venezuela, Zanganeh said "first, they (Americans) tried to bribe them," but when the captains rejected their offer, the U.S. administration sanctioned them.
The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on five Iranian ship captains who had delivered oil to Venezuela.
Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abbas Mousavi on Thursday condemned the fresh sanctions against the captains, saying that such embargoes prove the "failure" of U.S. administration's "maximum pressure campaign" against the Islamic republic. Enditem
