The Spanish police thwarted the sale of nine helicopter gunships to Iran and war material to Venezuela in an operation in which the vendors, five Spanish businessmen and three Iranians who traveled to Spain to finalize purchase, were arrested. According to the Directorate General of Police and Civil Guard, “those arrested also had planned to sell spare parts of fighter aircrafts to Venezuela.” “In the operation called ‘Nam’, we seized nine Bell-112 helicopters,...

Venezuela has broken off its relations with the United States after Washington hit Venezuela's state-owned oil company with sanctions for providing gasoline to Iran, according to Press TV, the state-owned Iranian news network. Examiner.com said that Caracas “froze” relations with the US on Sunday, citing a top Venezuelan diplomat. According to reports, Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro suggested that renewing relations with the US might be...

The U.S. government's decision to sanction Venezuela's state-run oil company, PDVSA (Petroleos de Venezuela, SA), is the first formal acknowledgment by Washington of Hugo Chávez's critical support for the nuclear-terrorist regime in Iran. The significance of today's announcement reaches well beyond the several targeted measures. It represents a powerful message to the financial markets, the banking community, and legitimate businesses in the United States and elsewhere that...

A Libyan delegation has arrived in Caracas to discuss a peaceful solution to the ongoing war conflict in the North African country, said on Tuesday Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez. The Venezuelan Head of State is an ally of Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi. Chávez has supported Gaddafi since the outbreak of a widespread revolt against the Libyan ruler in February, Reuters reported. "A delegation sent by Gaddafi has arrived in Venezuela, is in Venezuela, and we are...

Spanish Crown Prince Felipe restated his nation’s support for an independent Palestinian state during talks on Tuesday with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, a local news agency said. Prince Felipe, accompanied by his wife, Princess Letizia, met Abbas at his presidential headquarters in Ramallah as part of a tour of Israel and the West Bank. The prince reiterated “Spain’s position in support of the peace process and the right of the Palestinian people to establish an...

Iran has expanded its ties in Latin American beyond its close relationship with Venezuela, a top U.S. commander said Tuesday as he described a troubling development that the United States is watching closely. Gen. Douglas Fraser, the head of the U.S. Southern Command, said Iran has nearly doubled the number of embassies in the region, from six in 2005 to 10 in 2010 while also building cultural centers in 17 countries. Last year, Iran also has hosted heads of state from three countries -...

In secret negotiations with Iran, Argentina has offered to "forget" the bombings of the Israeli embassy and the Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, in 1992 and 1994, respectively, in exchange for improved relations between the two countries. According to the Argentine weekly Perfil, which broke the story yesterday, Foreign Minister Hector Timerman is personally involved in the talks. The Argentinean Foreign Ministry has so far declined comment. For his report, the veteran...

"No country has the right to bomb another country," said on Sunday Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, during his weekly program Aló Presidente (Hello, President). "We repeat our message from Venezuela, from the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA): We demand a halt to the attack against Libya. If you want to help a country, you should not bomb it, you have to talk with the parties," Chávez admonished. He added that he was...

The Libyan government has authorized Venezuela to take the "necessary" actions to create an international commission in order to mediate in the conflict in the Arab country, as suggested by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. "We authorize you to take all necessary measures to choose the members and coordinate their participation in the talks," Venezuela's Minister of Foreign Affairs Nicolás Maduro read over the letter just received from Libyan Foreign...

Saif al-Islam, a son of Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi, rejected on Thursday a plan by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez to send an international commission to mediate and help resolve the conflict in Libya. In an interview with British news network Sky News, Colonel Gaddafi's son said that he was not aware of the Venezuelan proposal, but he bluntly rejected a possible international mediation, Efe reported. Venezuelans, he said, "are our friends, we respect them and we...