Argentina expels Iranian envoy in row over ‘terrorist’ label
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A woman walks past the Iranian embassy in Argentina's capital, Buenos Aires.
PHOTO: AFP
- Argentina expelled Iran's charge d'affaires, Mohsen Tehrani, declaring him "persona non grata".
- The expulsion follows Iran's accusations against President Milei and Foreign Minister Quirno of complicity in attacks.
- Argentina's Foreign Minister condemned Iran's claims as "false, offensive, and unfounded accusations".
AI generated
BUENOS AIRES - Argentina on April 2 expelled Tehran’s diplomatic envoy following a war of words with the government of President Javier Milei, which has cheered the US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
Iranian charge d’affaires Mohsen Soltani Tehrani was given 48 hours to leave the country after what Argentina’s foreign ministry called “false, offensive and baseless accusations” by Tehran against the South American country.
The expulsion came two days after Argentina, led by Mr Milei who is a top ally of US President Donald Trump and of Israel, designated Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a “terrorist organisation.”
Iran’s foreign ministry accused Argentina in a statement of “siding with the aggressors” in a “clear violation” of international law.
It further accused Buenos Aires of “an unforgivable insult to the Iranian nation” and of being “partners in crimes committed and on the wrong side of history.”
Argentina’s foreign ministry on April 2 cited that statement and what it called Iran’s “persistent refusal” to cooperate with the probe into a 1994 bombing in Buenos Aires for expelling the Iranian diplomat.
In the worst such attack in Argentina’s history, a car bomb on July 18, 1994, killed 85 people and injured more than 300 at the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA).
Two years earlier, an explosion at the Israeli embassy killed 29 and wounded 200.
Argentine courts have blamed both attacks on Iran, which has always denied involvement and refused to hand over any suspects.
Argentina is home to the largest Jewish community in Latin America, with nearly 300,000 people living mostly in Buenos Aires. AFP
