A senior U.S. diplomat indicated that “any presence of the IRGC or the Islamic Republic in this hemisphere is not something we look very favorably on”. Reacting to the opening in Caracas of a supermarket by an Iranian company linked to Iran’s defence ministry, the official maintained that “this is like an alliance of pariah states. I would be sorely surprised if Venezuela is able to obtain much benefit from Iran… Iran is willing to play around. It’s willing to sell stuff to Venezuela when Venezuela really doesn’t have the money to be buying very much”. He further warned that “Iran is not going to save Venezuela from the situation it’s put itself in, but it does put itself in a more dangerous situation by playing these games, and they both ought to think seriously about that”.