Iran summons Argentina's envoy to protest allegations linking Iranian officials to Buenos Aires bombing

By Haydar Sahin and Efe Ozkan

ANKARA / ISTANBUL (AA) - Iran summoned Argentina's charge d'affaires in Tehran on Wednesday to protest the Argentine judiciary and officials' recent accusations against Iranian officials linking them to the 1994 bombing of the cultural center of the Argentine Jewish association, or Asociacion Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA), in Buenos Aires.

According to a statement issued by the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Argentina's charge d'affaires was summoned to the ministry to formally protest the Argentine judiciary's accusations against Iranian officials concerning their involvement with the attack on the Jewish association's cultural center building.

The envoy also received a strong protest from the Islamic Republic of Iran, the statement said.

Calling upon the Argentine government to rectify this misguided course, the statement said Issa Kameli, director general for the Americas at the Iranian Foreign Ministry, conveyed “the Islamic Republic’s categorical rejection and condemnation of the unfounded accusations made by the Argentine judiciary and official authorities.”

Kameli said: “This prosecutorial action is in manifest contravention of fundamental principles and norms of international law.”

Last week, the Argentinian judiciary requested an arrest warrant for Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, alleging his role in the Jewish cultural center bombing, according to reports in the Argentine press.

On July 18, 1994, a van crashed into the Jewish association’s cultural center in Buenos Aires and exploded, causing the six-story structure to collapse completely, killing 85 people and injuring over 300.

Iran and Hezbollah were blamed for the attack, and detention orders were issued against Iranian officials who were alleged to be responsible, as well as an application to Interpol for their arrest.