Venezuela celebrates docking of Iran tanker

Venezuela's Minister of Oil on Monday thanked the Iranian ambassador to his country and the crew of an Iranian tanker that docked earlier in the day for delivering badly needed fuel to the crisis-stricken nation.

Tareck El Aissami said the ship was bringing "the necessary fuel, additives, spare parts" and other equipment to help "lift our refining capacity and oil production."

The gasoline shipments are arriving in defiance of stiff sanctions by the Trump administration against both nations, but the oil tanker Fortune encountered no immediate signs of U.S. interference as it eased through Caribbean waters toward the Venezuelan coast.

The tanker and four behind it were finishing a high seas journey amid a burgeoning relationship between Iran and Venezuela, both of which Washington says are ruled by repressive regimes.

Venezuela sits atop the world's largest oil reserves, but it must import gasoline because production has crashed in the last two decades.

Critics blame corruption and mismanagement by the socialist administration amid an economic crisis that has led to huge migration by Venezuelans seeking to escape poverty, shortages of basic goods and crime.

The Iranian tankers hold what analysts estimate to be enough gasoline to supply Venezuela for two to three weeks.

The U.S. accuses Iran and other nations of propping up Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.