TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran and Venezuela will not back down from countering U.S. sanctions, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi wrote in a tweet.


U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on Wednesday the sanctioning of five Iranian captains who delivered gasoline and its components to Venezuela.


"US desperate moves against Iranian individuals - like the one announced by @SecPompeo aka the #SecretaryofHate – just signal the miserable failure of the so-called “max pressure”. Despite US pressure, #Iran & #Venezuela remain steadfast in countering unlawful U.S. sanctions," Mousavi tweeted.