Venezuelans March to Show Unwavering Solidarity With the Iranian and Palestinian Peoples

Mexico City, Mexico, June 20, 2025 (venezuelanalysis.com) – Thousands of Venezuelans marched Thursday in Caracas to express solidarity with Iran and Palestine, calling for peace amid Israel’s escalating actions.

Carrying Iranian flags and images of the Supreme Leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei, demonstrators denounced Israel’s unprovoked attacks on Iran, defending the latter’s right to respond in a firm show of popular support for one of Venezuela’s closest allies.

Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, speaking to the crowd, framed the protest as both a show of unwavering solidarity with the Iranian and Palestinian peoples and as a rebuke to international silence, especially by the United Nations.

“Iran is the vanguard of the free peoples of the world and we support them to expose that Israel is nothing more than another paper tiger created by the United States,” Cabello said at the demonstration.

The high-ranking Chavista marched alongside National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez and Iranian Ambassador to Venezuela Ali Chegini, who also addressed the crowd.

“Today we are paying the price for standing with a free Palestine, and we will continue our struggle in defense of our people and territory,” said Chegini, who cast Venezuela as firmly on the right side of history for backing Iran in the widening conflict.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has likewise strongly come out in support of Iran’s retaliation against Israel’s offensive that began on June 13. 

“Israel was stunned by the military prowess of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which has defended itself in accordance with international law and in legitimate self-defense,” said Maduro Thursday during a televised event.

Venezuela and Iran enjoy an extraordinarily close diplomatic, political and economic alliance, with deep cooperation in various fields, including art and culture, and a critical partnership in the energy sector. The two nations have fostered their ties in recent years to overcome US economic sanctions.

Caracas was among the first to condemn Israeli strikes against Iran. Maduro last visited Iran in 2022, where he signed a 20-year cooperation agreement together with former Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who perished in a crash in 2024.

After detailing Israel’s recent aggressions throughout the region—including the genocide in Gaza, its attacks on Lebanon that resulted in the death of Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah, and its role in regime change efforts in Syria that ousted Venezuelan ally ​​President Bashar al-Assad—the president denounced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s strategy.

“Israel wants full control over the Middle East’s resources, in partnership with US imperialism,” said Maduro.

Opposition leader María Corina Machado has tried to use Venezuela’s close relationship with Iran as justification for US intervention, depicting the country as the most serious “security threat” in the region.

“Venezuela is a real threat to the hemisphere and the United States. It is the only country in the hemisphere, besides the US, with the capacity to build combat drones of Iranian origin,” said Machado on Wednesday.

The far-right politician, who is calling for a boycott of upcoming municipal elections, suggested Iranian drones could fly from Venezuela to attack US territory directly, in Florida. Machado’s statements were met with swift condemnation, with social media users pointing out that other nations in South America have drone technology and that her statements are blatant calls for further US aggression against the country.

The relationship between Caracas and Tehran blossomed under the leadership of former Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, who sought to strengthen ties with other OPEC countries but fostered an especially close relationship with Iran over their shared opposition to US hegemony worldwide.

Edited by Ricardo Vaz in Caracas.