President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela has denied that his country was helping Iran send arms and other war material to Syria.
He said reports to that effect were nothing more than an invention by the media and this was all part and parcel of the "permanent aggression" of the United States – the "Empire" – against Venezuela.
"The newspapers of the empire have begun to invent stories that I am sending weapons to Syria from Iran through our airline Conviasa," Chavez said in a speech at the Miraflores presidential palace.
Minister of People's Power for Foreign Affairs Nicolas Maduro also chimed in, calling the information biased.
"This is a huge lie from the huge media campaign for which 10 years President Hugo Chávez Frías has been subjected to," said the Venezuelan foreign minister.
While the reports have been picked up by big media in the United States as they spread around the world, the idea that Venezuela might be involved in delivering Iranian weapons to Syria was first raised not in America, but by the formidable Italian newspaper La Stampa.
Citing the CIA and other intelligence services, the newspaper said the weapons were being manufactured by Shahid Bagheri (SBIG), an Iranian industrial group that took part in Iran's controversial ballistic missiles program, according to Resolution 1737 at the United Nations.
The newspaper went on to claim that the weapons were being shipped from Teheran to Damascus on board aircraft operated by the Venezuelan airline, Conviasa.
The airline has operated regular weekly flights linking Teheran with Damascus and Caracas since March 2007. The flights are seen as part of Chávez' policy of forging closer links with anti-U.S. leaders in the Middle East, most notably Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejihad.
The United States has voiced warnings that Iran could be pursuing a nuclear weapons development program. With this new Venezuelan context, this is seen with increasing alarm.
Chávez makes no secret of his aspiration that Venezuela should have its own nuclear development program, stressing that this will be devoted to peaceful purposes only.
Furthermore, he sees nuclear cooperation in terms of working with Russian rather than Iran. However, he has also turned to Russian companies for weapons as an alternative to the United States.
To date, unofficial estimates suggest that Chávez has placed orders worth $4 billion – and perhaps half as much again – with Russian and Belarus arms suppliers.
The orders have included 100,000 AK-47 assault rifles -- as well as the plants to build them and more Kalishnakovs in Venezuela -- for the Military Reserve Corps, which responds directly to Chávez' personal command, and is seen by critics as resembling a personal militia.
Other orders placed with Russia include military suppliers include jet fighter bombers, military helicopters, tanks, submarines, and radar systems, among other items.
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