Venezuela, a former ally of the Islamic Republic, summoned the Islamic Republic’s ambassador in Caracas over what it called “insulting and inappropriate statements.” Agence France-Presse reported that the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry announced the summoning in a statement, but did not provide details.

Venezuelan officials, in response to a question from Agence France-Presse, did not specify which statements they were referring to. A video shared on social media shows Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, saying this line: “Iran is not Venezuela.”

Araghchi said that line in an interview last week. In the interview, he said Washington is wrong if it believes that by detaining “one person” it can bring about full submission to the leadership of this government. His reference was to Venezuela’s fate after Nicolás Maduro was detained in a U.S. military operation in January.

Cold relations between Caracas and Tehran began after Maduro’s arrest, and the country is trying to erode the Islamic Republic’s influence.