The regimes of Iran and Venezuela may have been great chums and eager members of the anti-imperialist camp over the past decade. But the current in Caracas, where food shortages and clashes are rising, is prompting some finger-wagging in Tehran.

"We Want Food — Venezuela's Economy A Step Away From Total Collapse" read the front of Tuesday's edition Shargh.The Tehran-based daily cites hunger as the legacy of Venezuela's late socialist leader Hugo Chávez.

A report on June 21 called Chávez "Ahmadinejad's chum" in reference to Iran's former president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, known like Chávez for his diplomatic antics and bombastic comments — and poor economic performance.

The daily effectively took a jab at the egalitarian discourse and related policymaking that emerged in Iran after the 1979 revolution, reached a peak under Ahmadinejad and has yet to die out, in spite of the harm done to ordinary Iranians over decades.

In its Tuesday edition, Shargh analyzed Venezuela's conditions, seemingly responding to recent attacks by the hardline daily Kayhan on the government of President Hassan Rouhani. Kayhan had accused the current government of neglecting "strategic" relations with Latin America "just out of spite" for Ahmadinejad.