The U.S. sanctioned Nicolas Maduro “for conventional arms-related activities pursuant to the new Iran Conventional Arms Executive Order”. Iran and Venezuela “have continued to exchange defence delegations and have spent significant resources to develop plans, which likely have progressed to include arms sales”, said the State Department. “Our placing sanctions on Maduro today is a warning that should be heard clearly worldwide: no matter who you are, if you violate the UN arms embargo on Iran, you risk sanctions”.