Argentina rejects Israel request for explanation on Iran deal

Argentina has rejected a request from Israel to explain about its recent deal with Iran to investigate a 1994 bombing in Buenos Aires which killed 85 people.

Ruins of AMIA building in Buenos Aires after a 1994 bombing.

In a Wednesday statement, the Argentinean Foreign Ministry said the Israeli request for an explanation was “improper action that is strongly rejected.”
On Tuesday, Israel summoned Argentina’s envoy to protest the Iran-Argentina deal. Israel’s Foreign Ministry has also asked the regime’s envoy to Argentina to demand a meeting with the Argentinean Foreign Minister Hector Timerman to “seek clarifications” over the agreement. “The terrorist attack perpetrated on July 18, 1994, did not involve a single Israeli citizen. The victims were mostly Argentine citizens and included six Bolivian citizens, two Polish and a Chilean,” Argentina's statement said.On Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi and his Argentinean counterpart signed a memorandum of understanding for the two countries to shed light on the 1994 bombing on the AMIA building in Buenos Aires. AMIA stands for the Asociacion Mutual Israelita Argentina or the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association. Argentinean President Cristina Kirchner welcomed the agreement, saying, “It’s historic. Nearly 19 years after the attack on AMIA, a legal instrument is for the first time being established between Argentina and Iran.” Under intense political pressure imposed by the US and Israel, Argentina had formally accused Iran of having carried out the bombing attack. The Islamic Republic has categorically denied any involvement in the terrorist bombing.