Maduro’s forcible removal from power came less than a week after U.S. President Donald Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and threatened to launch new strikes against Iran
Hours after the United States announced the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Israeli politician Yair Lapid issued a warning to Tehran, saying, “The regime in Iran should pay close attention to what is happening in Venezuela.”
Maduro’s forcible removal from power came less than a week after U.S. President Donald Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and threatened to launch new strikes against Iran.
Although Washington’s tensions with Caracas and Tehran stem from different causes and follow different dynamics, analysts say President Donald Trump’s move against Maduro has increased the risk of war with Iran.
“A new sense of lawlessness makes everything less stable and war more likely,” said Jamal Abdi, president of the National Iranian American Council (NIAC).
“Whether Trump becomes enamoured with so-called ‘surgical’ regime change, or grants Prime Minister Netanyahu a U.S. imprimatur for similar actions, it is difficult not to see how this gives momentum to the many actors pushing for a renewed war with Iran,” he said.
Abdi added that Maduro’s abduction could prompt Iran “to take steps that trigger military action”, including accelerating the development of its own military deterrence or pre-empting U.S. or Israeli strikes.
Negar Mortazavi, a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy, also said U.S. actions in Venezuela reflect Trump’s maximalist objectives, further dimming prospects for diplomacy.
“What I see and hear from Tehran is that they are not interested in negotiating with the Trump administration, especially when the signals coming from Washington suggest a demand for total surrender,” Mortazavi told Newsmen.
Even in Venezuela, Maduro’s removal has not led to the collapse of the regime, at least for now.
On Sunday, Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, now serving as Venezuela’s acting president, insisted that Maduro remains the country’s sole legitimate leader and condemned the U.S. action.
She also suggested that Israel was involved in Maduro’s abduction, noting that he has been a vocal critic of the U.S. ally.
“Governments around the world are shocked that the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has become the victim and target of an attack of this nature, which undoubtedly carries Zionist undertones,” Rodríguez said.
President Donald Trump responded by threatening the acting Venezuelan leader, telling The Atlantic magazine that she would pay a “very big price probably bigger than Maduro” if she failed to comply with U.S. demands.
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