A Court in Argentina Accuses the Islamic Republic of 'Crimes Against Humanity'

A court in Argentina has attributed the deadly 1992 attack on the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires and the 1994 attack on the 'AMIA' Jewish center to the Islamic Republic, accusing the Iranian government of 'crimes against humanity.' According to reports from Argentine media cited by AFP, the court has stated that existing documents prove that the Islamic Republic, in collaboration with the 'Shiite terrorist movement Hezbollah of Lebanon,' committed the deadliest terrorist incident in Argentina's history by bombing the AMIA Jewish center, thus labeling the Iranian government a 'terrorist state' and an agent of 'crimes against humanity.' The bombing of the AMIA center occurred in 1994, resulting in the deaths of 87 people and injuring over three hundred, with 400 shops and homes damaged. Argentina claims that the Islamic Republic planned this bombing and that Hezbollah executed it. On July 18, 2022, the U.S. State Department announced on the anniversary of the explosion at the Jewish community center in Buenos Aires that 'senior officials of the Iranian government were directly involved in this attack, and Hezbollah carried it out at the behest of the Iranian regime.' Mohsen Rezai and Ahmad Vahidi, officials of the Islamic Republic who also hold positions in Ebrahim Raisi's government, are wanted by Interpol and are under prosecution by Argentine justice in connection with the AMIA bombing in 1994. Alberto Nisman, the special prosecutor of the AMIA case, was found dead in 2015 with a bullet in his head after accusing then-President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner of collusion with the Islamic Republic. The Iranian government denies any involvement in the AMIA attack and has blocked the interrogation of former government officials. The two countries maintain diplomatic relations at the chargé d'affaires level. Argentina is set to hand over a seized 'Iran-related' aircraft to the U.S. The Mossad and security services thwarted a Hezbollah terrorist attack plan in Brazil. The U.S. has sanctioned key 'Hezbollah' operatives in South America and Lebanon. An Argentine judge has requested the arrest of four Lebanese suspects in the AMIA bombing. There are controversies surrounding Iran's role in the AMIA bombing case; opponents claim that the Argentine president threatened the prosecutor with murder. The U.S. is committed to countering Hezbollah and Iran's influence on the anniversary of the 'AMIA' and 'Burgas' attacks.