Chavez Jokes About Missiles Aimed at US

Poking fun at American fears about Venezuela's ties with Iran and irked by new sanctions, Hugo Chavez quipped about having missiles pointed at the US. "Here they are," he said, holding up a picture of windmills along the country's coast. "They are pointing directly at Washington." Chavez previously joked that an Iranian-Venezuelan bicycle factory project would be making "atomic bicycles," AP notes.

Chavez slammed new American sanctions against Venezuela's state oil company for doing business with Iran, but said Venezuela would not respond immediately, reports Reuters. "We have an infinity of cards up our sleeves but have not played any of them," he said. The largely symbolic sanctions imposed by Washington allow Petroleos de Venezuela to continue selling oil to the US, but bar the company from holding US government contracts. (More Iran stories.)