Foreign policy of the Mahmoud Ahmadinejad administration
While the U.S. has linked its support for a Palestinian state to acceptance of Israel's "right to exist," Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has retorted that Israel should be moved to Europe instead, reiterating Muammar al-Gaddafi's 1990 statement. The U.S. has sent signals to Iran that its posturing against Israel's right to exist is unacceptable in their opinion, leading to increased speculation of a U.S. led attack on Iran's nuclear facilities. Even though Iran has denied involvement in Iraq, then-President Bush warned of "consequences," sending a clear message to Iran that the U.S. may take military action against it. The Bush administration considered Iran to be the world's leading state supporter of terrorism. Iran has been on the U.S. list of state sponsors of international terrorism since 1984, a claim that Iran and Ahmadinejad have denied.
Iran–Venezuela relations
A special election was held on 14 April 2013 to elect a new president, and Nicolas Maduro won with 50.62% of the votes, and was inaugurated on 19 April. On April 19, 2013, Ahmadinejad has arrived in Caracas to take part in Maduro’s inauguration ceremony, stating “Venezuela is on the eve of a glorious way and has an important historic mission. The Venezuelan nation should at first progress rapidly to make a prosperous, advanced, rich, and powerful country. Secondly, it should keep the flag of justice and freedom raised in Latin America… [Iran’s] relation with Venezuela…symbolizes Iran’s relation with Latin America.” Hassan Rouhani was elected as President of Iran on 15 June 2013.