Venezuela Reserves the Right to Buy Iranian Missiles When Deems Necessary, Foreign Minister Says

CARACAS (Sputnik) - Venezuela is not planning to buy Iran's missiles so far, but reserves the right to do so when deems necessary, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said at a meeting with his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif.

"There is no ship that will arrive with missiles, but there are relations [with Iran], and when our armed forces and the Iranian colleagues decide that it is necessary to acquire weapons, we will do so ... No one and nothing can prohibit this," Arreaza said.

In late October, US special envoy Elliott Abrams said that the United States would destroy Iranian long-range missiles in case of their shipment to Venezuela.

The news comes after the international arms embargo on Iran expired in October. Iranian Defence Minister Mohammad Amir Khatami has said that with arms embargo lifted, Tehran plans to sell more military products than purchasing them.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said last week that Caracas could buy weapons from any country that wanted to sell them, even the United States.