New UANI Resource Details ‘Axis Of Anti-Americanism’ Binding Iran And Venezuela

(New York, N.Y.) — This week, United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) released a new resource, Iran and Venezuela: Axis of Anti-Americanism, detailing the developing alliance between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Venezuela and how the two nations have aligned their agendas against the United States. The new UANI resource outlines how the anti-American and anti-Western sentiments pervasive in both regimes have served as a powerful catalyst for their wide-ranging alliance.

Over the past 18 months, the Iran-Venezuela economic relationship has been supercharged. Presidents Nicolás Maduro and Ebrahim Raisi signed a 20-year cooperation agreement to expand ties in the oil and petrochemical industries in June 2022, made possible by the entrenched corruption within the leadership of Venezuela’s socialist regime. Iran has exploited these political and economic vulnerabilities to gain a stronger foothold in the Latin American country – particularly through its thriving organized crime and narcotics trafficking operations, facilitated by Iran’s embedded Hezbollah proxy.

Amid the strengthening Iran-Venezuela alliance that helps facilitate transnational criminal enterprise, sanctions evasion, and funding of terror operations, the U.S. must undertake a strategic policy shift to weaken this axis of anti-Americanism:

First, increase pressure on maritime service providers that are complicit in deceptive practices that help facilitate the illicit trade of oil and oil products between Iran and Venezuela.

Second, prevent the proliferation of front companies and bank accounts engaged in transactions on behalf of corrupt politicians in the Maduro regime, criminal syndicates, terrorist organizations operating in Venezuela, and the IRGC.

Third, lead a diplomatic push to invoke the “snapback” provisions contained in U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231, which would reinstate the U.N. arms embargo against Iran, to prevent Tehran from exporting ballistic missiles and military drones to Venezuela. Consistent with the Monroe Doctrine, the U.S. should consider the proliferation of such systems in the Western Hemisphere as a direct threat to peace and security and, therefore, unacceptable.

To read the full resource, Iran and Venezuela: Axis of Anti-Americanism, please click here.