An Argentine court found Thursday that Iran was responsible for an infamous series of attacks in Buenos Aires in 1992 and in 1994, according to Argentinian media, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
The court ruled that Iran ordered the bombing against the Israeli embassy in Argentina in 1992 and the 1994 attack against the Asociacion Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA) Jewish community center, local media reported, according to AFP. (RELATED: Argentina’s Milei Goes All In On ‘Shock’ Policies In Bid To Save Country’s Economy)
Argentina court blames Iran for 1990s terror attacks on Israeli embassy, AMIA center https://t.co/uav3Ls9FyH
— The Times of Israel (@TimesofIsrael) April 12, 2024
The court observed that the 1994 bombing was a “crime against humanity” and that Iran was a “terrorist state,” the outlet reported. The ruling — which also implicated the Iran-backed terrorist organization Hezbollah in the attacks — was handed down by three judges, Infoveloz, a Spanish-language outlet, reported.
“Hezbollah carried out an operation that responded to a political, ideological and revolutionary design under the mandate of a government, of a State [Iran],” Carlos Mahiques — one of the judges — told Radio Con Vos, France 24 reported.
The judges found that the victims of the AMIA bombing and their families may sue those responsible for the incident including the Islamic Republic of Iran, according to Infoveloz. Judge Mahiques reportedly opined that Argentina could take up the cause of the victims in international fora like suing through the International Court of Justice.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz welcomed the verdict in a statement in Hebrew on Twitter Friday. “Yesterday, the court in Argentina ruled that Iran and Hezbollah are responsible for the two terrorist attacks that happened in Argentina about 30 years ago, at the Israeli Embassy building where 29 people were murdered and 242 were injured and at the Jewish Community House where 85 were murdered and 330 were injured, and defined them as a crime against humanity,” Katz tweeted.
The minister also disclosed that he talked with Argentina’s Foreign Minister Diana Mondino and requested that Argentina’s President Javier Milei “declare the Iranian Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization.”
אתמול קבע בית המשפט בארגנטינה שאיראן והחיזבאללה אחראים לשני פיגועי הטרור שקרו בארגנטינה לפני כ-30 שנה, בבניין שגרירות ישראל בו נרצחו 29 אנשים ונפצעו 242 ובבית הקהילה היהודית בו נרצחו 85 ונפצעו 330, והגדיר אותם כפשע נגד האנושות.
שוחחתי עם שרת החוץ של ארגנטינה דיאנה מונדינו…
— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) April 12, 2024
The ruling was also welcomed by the local Jewish community in Argentina that numbers some 300,000 souls, according to France 24. The judgement “is very important, because it enables the victims to go to the International Criminal Court,” Jorge Knoblovits, the president of the Delegation of Israelite Associations of Argentina, told Radio Mitre, France 24 reported.