ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Iran on Monday called for the release of Nicolas Maduro, days after the Venezuelan president was “captured” by the US and is set to stand trial on American soil.

In the early hours of Saturday, US forces carried out a large-scale military operation in Venezuela employing air, land, and sea assets, which culminated in the capture of Maduro and his wife in the capital Caracas.

“The president of a country and his wife were abducted. It's nothing to be proud of; it's an illegal act,” Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said at a weekly press conference.

“As the Venezuelan people have emphasised, their president must be released,” he added.

Venezuela has long been one of Iran’s close allies.

An indictment from the US Department of Justice accuses Maduro of “narco-terrorism” conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices. His wife Cilia Flores is accused of taking bribes and ordering kidnappings, beatings, and murders “against those who owed them drug money or otherwise undermined their drug trafficking operation.”

The trial is set to begin Monday.

Baghaei said Tehran remains in contact with Caracas and that Iran’s relations with Venezuela remain unchanged despite Maduro’s seizure.

“Our relations with all countries, including Venezuela, are based on mutual respect and will remain so,” Baghaei said.

Following Maduro’s arrest, US President Donald Trump said Washington will be in charge of Venezuela for the time being.

“We're going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,” Trump said on Saturday, noting that Washington is not afraid of having “boots on the ground.”

He explained that the administration is currently designating a group to “run” Venezuela in the aftermath of Maduro’s capture, noting that the the group will “largely” consist of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine “for a period of time.”

Maduro has served as Venezuelan president since 2013 and has been a US bugbear in the region for his avowedly socialist and anti-US imperialism stances.