Young: TT will not facilitate Iranian ships with oil to Venezuela

Stuart Young -
Stuart Young -

NATIONAL Security Minister Stuart Young described a question  raised in Parliament on Friday about TT facilitating Iranian fuel ships as part of the United National Congress’s (UNC) “narrative” to bring sanctions upon TT. 

He was responding to an urgent question on Government’s policy on facilitating in any way the passage of Iranian-flagged ships carrying petroleum products to Venezuela. A report on Friday on washingtonpost.com said “five oil tankers were now steaming across the Atlantic Ocean (and headed toward the Caribbean), carrying what analysts estimate to be 60 million gallons of Iranian gasoline, which they say was bought with Venezuelan gold.”

An earlier report in argusmedia.com (an independent London-based media organisation) said Iranian ships with fuel for Venezuela could be headed to TT. 

Young replied: “(This is) a deliberate narrative born in the bowels of the UNC Opposition to misrepresent our country’s foreign policy to the world. Exactly as just has been said is being said by the Venezuelan opposition, coming directly from the UNC Opposition in TT. 

“The UNC Opposition continued to bolster their self-born narrative trying to incite sanctions against TT.”

He said in Parliament on March 8, 2019 Government adopted a UN Security Council resolution under the Economic Sanctions Act regarding the Islamic Republic of Iran. 

“So I will put it very, very clearly on the record that this Government will be doing absolutely nothing to facilitate in any way the passage of any Iranian flag ships carrying petroleum products to Venezuela. It is quite wrong, especially for those in Parliament, to give this erroneous impression that we do not comply with UN resolutions and sanctions, which we do, and this Government continues to abide by UN resolutions. And we will not fall prey to the UNC ‘call’ for sanctions against TT."

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