Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his Venezuelan counterpart YvánGil Pinto discussed bilateral ties and recent US military activity in the Caribbean in a phone call, Iranian state media reported on Sunday.
Gil said Venezuela faced “illegal threats” from Washington and thanked Tehran for what he called its principled support of the UN Charter and respect for national sovereignty, according to a readout of the call released by Iranian state media.
He told Araghchi that “the government and people of Venezuela will firmly defend their independence, sovereignty and right to self-determination,” and voiced hope that BRICS members and Latin American states would condemn US actions.
Araghchi strongly condemned what he described as unilateral and bullying measures by the United States, calling them a “clear violation” of the UN Charter and a threat to global peace and security.
He expressed Iran’s solidarity with Venezuela “in the face of US coercion.”
The call came as US President Donald Trump warned this week that Venezuelan jets flying near US naval vessels would be shot down if they posed a threat, after Washington said Venezuelan aircraft had approached an American ship for the second time in two days.
US officials said the incidents followed a strike on a Venezuela-linked vessel they described as a “drug-carrying boat,” which left 11 people dead.
Trump has stepped up anti-drug-trafficking operations in Latin America, sending additional naval assets and thousands of personnel to the region.
CNN, citing multiple sources, reported on Friday that the Trump administration is weighing strikes against drug trafficking groups inside Venezuela.
He told reporters the deployment was to keep the US “strong on drugs,” while Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro accused Washington of seeking regime change.
Maduro urged the United States to “abandon its plan of violent regime change in Venezuela and in all of Latin America,” and called for respect for sovereignty and independence.
“I respect Trump. None of the differences we’ve had can lead to a military conflict,” Maduro said, adding that “Venezuela has always been willing to talk, to engage in dialogue.”
