Argentinian Prosecutor: Alberto Nisman Was Murdered

A senior prosecutor in Argentina has stated that Alberto Nisman, the former prosecutor of a case involving Iran's possible involvement in a major terrorist operation in the country, did not commit suicide but was murdered. The Associated Press reported that Ricardo Sainz is the first senior judicial official in Argentina to announce Nisman's murder. Sainz made these remarks on Thursday, March 6, following a request for appeal by Nisman's wife in court. Nisman was investigating the role of the Islamic Republic and the Lebanese Hezbollah group in the bombing of a Jewish center in Buenos Aires in 1994, which resulted in the deaths of 85 people. The Argentine judiciary, after reviewing the case, accused several senior officials of the Islamic Republic of issuing orders for this operation and Hezbollah of carrying it out. Among the Iranian officials for whom international arrest warrants have been issued in connection with this case are Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the president, Ali Fallahian, the minister of intelligence, Ali Akbar Velayati, the foreign minister, and Mohsen Rezaei, the then-commander of the Revolutionary Guards. Subsequent investigations by Alberto Nisman indicated that the Argentine government intended to 'cover up' the Islamic Republic's role in this case in exchange for receiving oil from Iran in 2014. Nisman's body was discovered in his home in Bahman 1393 (February 2015). He was scheduled to testify in the Argentine Congress the day after his death regarding the role of Cristina Fernández, the then-president of the country, in covering up Iran's involvement.