Earth Times: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Sunday, at the end of his two-day visit to Iran, that his country would export petrol to the Islamic Republic, ISNA news agency reported. A ban on petrol export to Iran was supposed to be one of the sanction items by the world powers if Iran refused to meet the September deadline for resuming nuclear negotiations.

In contrast with the Western powers, Chavez has consistently supported Tehran's controversial nuclear programs and defended Iran's right to pursue peaceful nuclear projects.

ISNA quoted Chavez as saying that starting in October, Venezuela could export 20,000 barrels of petrol to Iran. Iran is a major oil producer and exporter but, due to inadequate domestic processing, still imports petrol to meet daily fuel consumption. Chavez said that the petrol deal amounts to $800 million, which would go into a bilateral fund to be established in Tehran for later purchases by Venezuela of machinery from Iran. The two countries agreed to inject $100 million into the joint Iran-Venezuela Bank within the next 30 days, the Venezuelan President said.

Chavez on Sunday accompanied his Iranian counterpart to the north- eastern city of Mashad, where Mahmoud Ahmadinejad held the first cabinet session following his re-election last June. "The two-day visit by Mr Chavez to Iran was very successful and fruitful and very suitable agreements were reached," Ahmadinejad said in a press briefing.

Ahmadinejad vowed that Iran and Venezuela would always stand by each other, saying that he was sure Chavez would eventually defeat all conspiracies by the United States. The two states signed further agreements in Mashad in the fields of commerce, oil and pharmaceuticals, state media reported.

Fars news agency had reported that Chavez was to meet new Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi, who was accused by the Argentinean judiciary of involvement in a 1994 bombing that killed 85 people at a Jewish community centre in Argentina. It was not clear whether the meeting was held.

Before leaving for Mashad, Chavez met in Tehran with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who said that Iran and Venezuela should spare no effort to bolster the newly established "independence front."

According to official news agency IRNA, Khamenei said that consecutive defeats of the US indicated that the world was undergoing an undeniable change and therefore called on efforts to strengthen the resistance front. Chavez had arrived Saturday in Tehran and discussed with Ahmadinejad continuation of a 10-year bilateral plan aimed at tackling the global economic crisis.

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