Venezuela summoned the ambassador of Iran, a longtime ally, on Tuesday to face protest over comments that were deemed “contemptuous and inappropriate,” the foreign ministry said in a statement. “The ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Venezuela was summoned to the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry in order to be given a note of protest over the contemptuous and inappropriate remarks made against Venezuela’s institutions and authorities,” the statement shared via social media said. Hostile to the “Yankee empire” and steeped in anti-imperialist discourse, Chavez moved Venezuela closer to Iran and bonded over their common enemy, the United States. When Venezula was mired in a massive economic crisis in 2020, Iran sent 1.5 million barrels of gasoline because Caracas was unable to refine its own oil. In 2025, Iran sent more than two million polio and hepatitis vaccines when Venezuela faced difficulty purchasing medicine because of US sanctions.