The new tripartite deal just signed by Iran, Venezuela, and Syria to construct a groundbreaking oil refinery in Homs, with a capacity of 140,000 barrels per day, further strengthens the collaboration, as well as the economies, of these countries. Iran has been significantly aiding Syria and Venezuela to bypass the impact of Western sanctions — providing both countries with technical, economic, and military aid.
Iran’s relationships with Syria and Venezuela could be disastrous for Western interests. In 2020, U.S. Southern Command chief Admiral Craig Faller warned that Iran’s Quds Force was sending weapons and troops to Venezuela. In 2022, Venezuela provided Iran with 1,000,000 hectares of alleged “farmland for cultivation.” That same year, an independent Israeli intelligence analyst stated that a Venezuelan cargo plane was linked to Iran’s attempts to attack Israelis. Venezuela has also hosted Hizballah and Fatah cells involved in money laundering, drug dealing, and jihad activity.
As for Syria, Iran carries out much of its proxy activities and plots against Israel there. In April, Iran, Syria, Hamas, and Hizballah talked further about “resistance” against Israel. Last month, it was revealed that Iran is now building a new airstrip in southern Syria, only twelve miles away from the Israeli border.
“Iran, Venezuela, Syria ink tripartite deal to construct a refinery in Homs,” Tehran Times, October 1, 2023:
TEHRAN – Iran, Venezuela, and Syria have signed a trilateral agreement to cooperate on constructing a new oil refinery in Syria’s Homs Province, a senior official with the Iranian Oil Ministry said.
Deputy Oil Minister Jalil Salari provided the information in an interview with Iranian media, IRNA reported on Sunday.
The deal foresees the construction of “a new 140,000-barrel refinery,” whose required oil would be provided jointly by the Islamic Republic and Venezuela, Salari said.
“The [relevant] fundamental studies and designing process [for implementation of the project] has been completed,” the official noted.
The refinery would complement two already functioning ones, the Banias Refinery and the Homs Refinery, which are both located in western Syria.
According to Salari, “the financing and construction [phases of the project] are on the agenda.”
Iran and Syria have also signed a memorandum of understanding towards repairing the 110,000-barrel oil refinery that is located in Homs, the Iranian official reported….
