sentences:  It is a role that Iran is trying to carve out for itself amidst the undercurrents  engulfing his part of the world and the need to show that Iran is not isolated internationally.After Chávez's death was announced on March 5, 2013, vice president Nicolás Maduro became interim president.The day after Chavez’s death, Ahmadinejad’s personal tribute to Chavez online was met with criticism from some Iranian clerics, when he wrote that Chavez would “return on resurrection day” along with religious figures such as Jesus.