Caracas: Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yv¡n Gil Pinto has expressed his country’s ‘sincere appreciation’ to Iran for its support of the Latin American nation in the face of US military threats and pressure. ‘On behalf of the Bolivarian Government of Venezuela and our President Nicol¡s Maduro, we wish to express our sincere appreciation for the firm condemnation made by the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding the recent unilateral action by the United States to declare the closure of Venezuelan airspace,’ Pinto said in a post on his Telegram page shared on Sunday.

According to Islamic Republic News Agency, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei condemned the decision as a blatant violation of fundamental rules of international law, including those governing global air transport, according to the ministry’s website. He described the measure as part of Washington’s ongoing provocative and unlawful actions against Venezuela’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and an ‘arbitrary act’ as well as an unprecedented threat to the safety and security of international aviation.

On Saturday, US President Donald Trump declared the airspace above and around Venezuela ‘closed in its entirety.’ Trump announced the closure of Venezuela’s airspace as his administration has increased pressure on President Nicol¡s Maduro’s government with a major military deployment in the Caribbean. The US took this step in recent weeks after launching a series of airstrikes, beginning in September, against boats off Venezuela’s coast under the pretext of combating drug trafficking into the United States.