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The AMIA bombing occurred on 18 July 1994 in
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
,
Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
, and targeted the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA; ), a Jewish Community Centre. Executed as a suicidal attack, a bomb-laden van was driven into the AMIA building and subsequently detonated, killing 85 people and injuring over 300."AMIA Bombing Commemorated", ''Dateline World Jewry'',
World Jewish Congress The World Jewish Congress (WJC) is an international federation of Jewish communities and organizations, founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in August 1936. According to its mission statement, the World Jewish Congress's main purpose is to act as ...
, September 2007
To date, the bombing remains the deadliest terrorist attack in Argentine history. In 1994, Argentina was home to a Jewish community of 200,000, making it the largest in
Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...
and the sixth-largest in the world outside of
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
. Over the years, the AMIA bombing has been marked by accusations of cover-ups. All suspects in the "local connection" (among them, many members of the Buenos Aires Provincial Police) were found to be not guilty in September 2004. In August 2005, federal judge Juan José Galeano, who was in charge of the case, was impeached and removed from his post on a charge of "serious irregularities" due to his mishandling of the investigation. In 2005, Catholic Church cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who became
Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...
in 2013, was the first public personality to sign a petition for justice in the AMIA bombing case. He was one of the signatories on a document called "85 victims, 85 signatures" as part of the bombing's 11th anniversary. On 25 October 2006, Argentine prosecutors Alberto Nisman and Marcelo Martínez Burgos formally accused the
Iranian government The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran (), known simply as ''Nezam'' (), is the ruling State (polity), state and current political system in Iran, in power since the Iranian Revolution and fall of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. Its Const ...
of directing the bombing, and the Lebanese Islamist militant group
Hezbollah Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...
of carrying it out. According to the prosecution's claims in 2006, Argentina had been targeted by
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
after Buenos Aires' decision to suspend a nuclear technology transfer contract to Tehran. This has been disputed as the contract was never terminated, and Iran and Argentina were negotiating on the restoration of full cooperation on all bilateral agreements from early 1992 until 1994, when the bombing occurred. In 2024, an Argentine court ruled that Iran directed the attack, and that it was carried by Hezbollah. The ruling also characterized Iran as a terrorist state.


Bombing

On 18 July 1994, a suicide bomber drove a Renault Trafic van bomb loaded with about of
ammonium nitrate Ammonium nitrate is a chemical compound with the formula . It is a white crystalline salt consisting of ions of ammonium and nitrate. It is highly soluble in water and hygroscopic as a solid, but does not form hydrates. It is predominantly us ...
fertilizer and fuel oil explosive mixture, into the Jewish Community Center building located in a densely constructed commercial area of Buenos Aires. The explosive is thought to have been arranged to focus the blast on the building away, exhibiting a
shaped charge A shaped charge, commonly also hollow charge if shaped with a cavity, is an explosive charge shaped to focus the effect of the explosive's energy. Different types of shaped charges are used for various purposes such as cutting and forming metal, ...
or
explosively formed penetrator An explosively formed penetrator (EFP), also known as an explosively formed projectile, a self-forging warhead, or a self-forging fragment, is a special type of shaped charge designed to penetrate armor effectively, from a much greater standoff ...
effect. The exterior walls of this five-story building were of brick masonry construction, which supported the floor slabs. The air blast from the bomb totally destroyed the exposed
load-bearing wall A load-bearing wall or bearing wall is a wall that is an active structural element of a building, which holds the weight of the elements above it, by conducting its weight to a Foundation (engineering), foundation structure below it. Structural ...
s which, in turn, led to progressive failure of the floor slabs and virtually total collapse of the building. Such bearing-wall buildings are notable for their tendency to be brought down in this manner by localized damage.


Other bombings

The bombing came two years after the 17 March 1992 bombing of the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires which killed 29 and wounded 242, and was Argentina's deadliest attack until the AMIA bombing. The
Islamic Jihad Organization The Islamic Jihad Organization (IJO; (OJI); ) was a Lebanese Shia Muslims, Lebanese Shia militia known for its activities in the 1980s during the Lebanese Civil War. The organization, advocating for the withdrawal of all Americans from Leba ...
, which according to Robert Baer operates under the umbrella of Hezbollah and is linked to Iran, claimed responsibility for that bombing. It was suspected that the AMIA bombing was connected to the embassy attack.Norton, Augustus Richard, ''Hezbollah: A Short History'', Princeton University Press, 2007, p.79 To date, authorities have been unable to locate those responsible for either of the two bombings. The day after the AMIA attack, a suicide bombing on a Panamanian commuter plane killed all 21 passengers, 12 of whom were Jews. Investigators determined that the bombing was perpetrated by a "Lya Jamal" – thought to be "an Arab traveling under an alias, using fraudulently obtained Colombian documents." Eight days after the AMIA attack, the Israeli embassy in London was car-bombed, and thirteen hours later a similar car bomb exploded outside a Jewish community centre in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
. No one was killed but 22 were injured and "millions of pounds of damage" was done. Five Palestinians were later arrested in London and two convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison in connection with the bombings.


Investigation and responsibility

In 2018 judicial authorities announced that former President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner would face trial on charges she covered up the role of Iranians in bombing. Federal Judge Claudio Bonadio said that eleven other former officials and people close to Kirchner's government will also be tried on charges of cover-up and abuse of power. Kirchner has denied the charges. No suspects have been convicted for the bombing and there have been a number of allegations made, with later investigations charging the government of Iran. The investigations were marred by incompetence. In 1999 an arrest warrant was issued against Hezbollah member Imad Mugniyah in connection with the attack. Argentine justice accused Tehran in 2006 of being behind the attacks, and indicted several senior Iranian officials, including Hashemi Rafsanjani and
Ahmad Vahidi Ahmad Shahcheraghi (, born 27 June 1958), better known as Ahmad Vahidi (), is an Iranian military commander of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and former Iranian Minister of Interior from 2021 to 2024. He is currently member of th ...
, as well as Hezbollah's Imad Mughniyah. It was speculated that Hezbollah was exacting revenge for Israel killing 40 people in Baalbek, Lebanon on 2 June 1994. In 2007, several of the charged were placed on
Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL (abbreviated as ICPO–INTERPOL), commonly known as Interpol ( , ; stylized in allcaps), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime cont ...
's most wanted list, though bylaws prevented listing top officials such as Rafsanjani. As of 2017 the charged suspects (who remain alive) remain
fugitive A fugitive or runaway is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from jail, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals. A fugitive from justice, also known ...
s. In August 2021, two of the charged suspects,
Ahmad Vahidi Ahmad Shahcheraghi (, born 27 June 1958), better known as Ahmad Vahidi (), is an Iranian military commander of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and former Iranian Minister of Interior from 2021 to 2024. He is currently member of th ...
and Mohsen Rezai, were appointed to government of
Ebrahim Raisi Ebrahim Raisolsadati (14 December 1960 – 19 May 2024), better known as Ebrahim Raisi, was an Iranian politician who served as the eighth president of Iran from 2021 until 2024 Varzaqan helicopter crash, his death in a helicopter crash in 202 ...
in the posts of interior minister and vice president of economic affairs, respectively.


Claim of responsibility

Shortly after the attack Ansar Allah, a
Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...
Jihadist Jihadism is a neologism for modern, armed militant Political aspects of Islam, Islamic movements that seek to Islamic state, establish states based on Islamic principles. In a narrower sense, it refers to the belief that armed confrontation ...
organization widely held as a front for
Hezbollah Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...
, reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack, and for the Alas Chiricanas Flight 901 bombing via leaflets distributed in
Sidon Sidon ( ) or better known as Saida ( ; ) is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast in the South Governorate, Lebanon, South Governorate, of which it is the capital. Tyre, Lebanon, Tyre, t ...
and a communique in the Lebanese newspaper An-Nahar.


Ibrahim Hussein Berro

Israeli diplomatic sources who read the "final" report by SIDE on the attack said in 2003 that the attack was a suicide bombing carried out by Ibrahim Hussein Berro, a 21-year-old Hezbollah operative who has been honored with a plaque in southern Lebanon for his "martyrdom" on 18 July 1994, the date of the bombing. This investigation was carried out jointly with the U.S.
Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
. Hussein had been identified by FBI and Argentine intelligence, and corroborated by at least three witnesses. According to official Argentine government prosecutor, Alberto Nisman, Hussein's two U.S.-based brothers had testified that he had joined the radical Shia militant group Hezbollah. "The brothers' testimony was substantial, rich in detail and showed that he was the one who was killed," Nisman added. A BBC correspondent reported that independent investigators were skeptical, and they pointed out repeated incompetence and deception in the official investigation. No proper
autopsies An autopsy (also referred to as post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death; ...
or
DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...
tests were done. The police had also simply dumped a head, thought to be that of the bomber, into a bin. On 5 July 2017, The Algemeiner reported that DNA not assignable to any of the victims has been identified. This new evidence will allow investigators to test the prevailing suspicion that the bombing was committed by Ibrahim Hussein Berro.


Juan José Galeano's investigations

Federal judge Juan José Galeano followed investigations concerning the "local connection", which included members of the ''Policía Bonaerense'' ( Buenos Aires Provincial Police). He quickly arrested Carlos Telleldín, alleged to have provided the van used in the bombing, and some 20 officers from the Bonaerense. But a video broadcast on Argentine TV showed him offering Telleldín $400,000, in return for evidence, which led to Galeano's removal from the case in 2003, and his
impeachment Impeachment is a process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In Eur ...
in August 2005. Judge Galeano had also issued warrants for the arrests of 12 Iranians, including Hade Soleimanpour, Iran's
ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...
to Argentina in 1994. The latter was arrested in the UK on 21 August 2003, at the request of the Argentine authorities. He was later released because, according to the
Home Office The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...
, there was not even enough evidence presented to make a ''
prima facie ''Prima facie'' (; ) is a Latin expression meaning "at first sight", or "based on first impression". The literal translation would be "at first face" or "at first appearance", from the feminine forms of ' ("first") and ' ("face"), both in the a ...
'' case for the extradition to proceed. Judge Galeano also interviewed Abolghasem Mesbahi, aka "Witness C", an alleged former Iranian intelligence officer who reportedly said a former Argentine president accepted a $10 million payment from Tehran to block the investigation. Former President
Carlos Menem Carlos Saúl Menem (2 July 1930 – 14 February 2021) served as the 50th president of Argentina for ten years, from 1989 to 1999. He identified as Peronism, Peronist, serving as President of the Justicialist Party for 13 years (from 1990 to 200 ...
denied the claims, but admitted he had a secret Swiss bank account following a report in ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
''. Menem claimed in 2004 that the attack had been related to his support to the US during the First Gulf War and to his visit to Israel during his mandate. Abolghasem Mesbahi claimed to the Argentine court that Iran had planned the bombing, thinking the centre was a base for the Israeli secret service. On 2 September 2004, all suspects in the "local connection" (among whom members of the Buenos Aires police) of AMIA case were found to be not guilty. Five persons, including four policemen, were therefore acquitted because of lack of evidence. On 3 August 2005, Judge Galeano's impeachment was successful, and he was formally removed from his post as a federal judge for "serious" irregularities and his mishandling of the investigation. Argentine newspaper '' Clarín'' reports that charges will be pressed against him shortly. Judge Galeano has denied these allegations. In March 2005, Swiss judge Jacques Antenen, in charge of investigations concerning the murder of an Iranian dissident, re-opened the case concerning Iranian intelligence service bank accounts in Switzerland. The same account would have been used both for this assassination and for the alleged payment of ex-President Carlos Menem. Swiss Justice had already been notified of the existence of an account owned by the Red Spark Foundation (based in
Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (, ; ; ), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein ( ), is a Landlocked country#Doubly landlocked, doubly landlocked Swiss Standard German, German-speaking microstate in the Central European Alps, between Austria in the east ...
), in which
Ramón Hernández Ramón José Hernández Marin (; born May 20, 1976) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball catcher and current major league staff assistant for the Athletics (baseball), Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB with the ...
, former secretary of Carlos Menem, had authority to sign documents. Six million dollars would have been deposited in this account, although in some moment the exact amount was said to be of $10 million. In 2006, the
Court of Cassation A court of cassation is a high-instance court that exists in some judicial systems. Courts of cassation do not re-examine the facts of a case; they only interpret the relevant law. In this, they are appellate courts of the highest instance. In ...
declared that the previous court had made a false version of the investigated acts in order to cover irresponsibilities.


Investigations under Néstor Kirchner's government

Néstor Kirchner Néstor Carlos Kirchner Ostoić (; 25 February 195027 October 2010) was an Argentine lawyer and politician who served as the president of Argentina from 2003 to 2007. A member of the Justicialist Party, he previously served as Governor of Sa ...
's government issued a
decree A decree is a law, legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state, judge, monarch, royal figure, or other relevant Authority, authorities, according to certain procedures. These procedures are usually defined by the constitution, Legislativ ...
in July 2005 formally accepting a share of the blame for the failure of investigations about the attack. He called the unresolved investigations a "national disgrace." President Kirchner said governments had covered up facts, and that the decree established a mechanism for victims to receive compensation. Shortly after assuming his functions in spring 2003, he opened up Argentine intelligence files on the case, and lifted a decree preventing SIDE agents from testifying in the case. Argentina's justice, Israel, and the United States suspected in 2005 that
Hezbollah Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...
was behind the attack, with backing from Iran. Hezbollah has denied responsibility. The Iranian government maintains its innocence, condemning the terrorist attack and calling for urgent punishment of those responsible. On 25 October 2006, prosecutors in Buenos Aires formally charged Iran and
Shi'a Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor ( caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community ( imam). However, his right is understoo ...
militia Hezbollah with the bombing, accusing the Iranian authorities of directing Hezbollah to carry out the attack and calling for the arrest of former President of Iran
Ayatollah Ayatollah (, ; ; ) is an Title of honor, honorific title for high-ranking Twelver Shia clergy. It came into widespread usage in the 20th century. Originally used as a title bestowed by popular/clerical acclaim for a small number of the most di ...
Hashemi Rafsanjani and seven others, including some who still hold official positions in Iran. The Justice of Argentine called for the arrest of top Iranian authorities. The Iranian defense minister,
Ahmad Vahidi Ahmad Shahcheraghi (, born 27 June 1958), better known as Ahmad Vahidi (), is an Iranian military commander of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and former Iranian Minister of Interior from 2021 to 2024. He is currently member of th ...
was accused of masterminding the attack. Argentine's government required the extradition of those accused of the attack but Iran has always refused to accept the verdict of the Argentine's Justice. In November 2007, Interpol on behalf of the Argentine government, published the names of six individuals ( Imad Mughniyah, Ali Fallahijan, Mohsen Rabbani, Ahmad Reza Asghari,
Ahmad Vahidi Ahmad Shahcheraghi (, born 27 June 1958), better known as Ahmad Vahidi (), is an Iranian military commander of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and former Iranian Minister of Interior from 2021 to 2024. He is currently member of th ...
and
Mohsen Rezaee Mohsen Rezaee Mirgha'ed (, born Sabzevar Rezaee Mirgha'ed (); born 1 September 1954) is an Iranian conservative politician affiliated with the Resistance Front of Islamic Iran and senior military officer in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps ...
) officially accused for their role in the terrorist attack. They were entered in the Interpol red notice list. Speaking on state radio, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hoseyni described the accusations against the country as "a Zionist plot". Both Hezbollah and Iran deny any involvement in the bombing. According to Hoseyni, the accusations were intended to divert "world attention from the perpetration of crimes by the Zionists against women and children in Palestine". On 6 March 2007, former Congressman Mario Cafiero and former government official Luis D'Elia said they had traveled to Iran where they had received "evidence" from the Iranian government. The evidence alleged that two of the AMIA witnesses were "terrorist dissidents". They also said that there were arrest warrants issued by Interpol for the other two Iranians, Hadi Roshanravani and Hamid Reza Eshagi. D'Elia accused the United States government of reaching an "agreement" with the AMIA witnesses in exchange for their testimony. Laura Ginsber, head of APEMIA ("Agrupacion por el Esclarecimiento de la Masacre Impue de la AMIA) responded that D'Elia's trip to Iran was "not innocent", and that it could be linked with "trying to generate business with Iran".


Developments under Cristina Fernández de Kirchner's government

In November 2008, Carlos Menem was called to testify in an upcoming trial over the AMIA case. In March 2009, a former investigator in the case, Claudio Lifschitz, claimed he was abducted and tortured by men who told him not to investigate SIDE's involvement in the case. In August 2009,
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
reported that
Ahmad Vahidi Ahmad Shahcheraghi (, born 27 June 1958), better known as Ahmad Vahidi (), is an Iranian military commander of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and former Iranian Minister of Interior from 2021 to 2024. He is currently member of th ...
had become Iran's
defense minister A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...
-designate under the 2009
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (born Mahmoud Sabbaghian on 28 October 1956) is an Iranian Iranian principlists, principlist and Iranian nationalism, nationalist politician who served as the sixth president of Iran from 2005 to 2013. He is currently a mem ...
administration, and is on
Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL (abbreviated as ICPO–INTERPOL), commonly known as Interpol ( , ; stylized in allcaps), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime cont ...
's wanted list over the AMIA bombing. Vahidi led a unit of Iran's Revolutionary Guard called
Quds Force The Quds Force () is one of five branches of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). It specializes in unconventional warfare and military intelligence operations. U.S. Army's Iraq War General Stanley McChrystal describes the Quds Fo ...
at the time of the attack, and has been accused of planning the bombings. Iran dismissed this development as a "Zionist plot". On 1 June 2011,
Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...
apologized to Argentina for Ahmad Vahidi's unannounced visit to the country, and announced that he would be leaving Bolivia immediately. On 31 March 2012, Menem was ordered to stand trial for obstruction of justice in the probe of the AMIA bombing. Menem is accused of helping to cover up the tracks of local accomplices of the attackers. In 2012, Argentina's President
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner Cristina Elisabet Fernández de Kirchner (; born 19 February 1953), often referred to by her initials CFK, is an Argentine lawyer and former politician who served as the 56th president of Argentina from 2007 to 2015, and later as the 37th Vice ...
announced at the
United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its Seventy-ninth session of th ...
that Iran and Argentina would meet to discuss Iranian involvement in the attacks. In 2014 she also criticized her country's Jewish leaders for not supporting Argentina's pact with Iran in order to jointly investigate the 1994 AMIA bombing attack:
My country is the only country of the Americas other than the United States of America that was the target of terrorist attacks: one in 1992 when the embassy of Israel was blown up, and the second in 1994 when the headquarters of the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA) was bombed. This year marks the twentieth anniversary of the bombing of AMIA. I dare say before this Assembly—in the presence of some of the family members of the victims who have always been with us—that the Government headed by President Kirchner did the utmost and went the greatest lengths to uncover the real culprits, not only because it opened all my country's intelligence files and created a special prosecutor investigation unit, but also because, when in 2006 the justice system of my country accused Iranian citizens of involvement in the bombing of AMIA, I myself was the only President who dared to propose asking the Islamic Republic of Iran to cooperate with and assist in the investigation. That request was made intermittently from 2007 to 2011, until the Islamic Republic of Iran finally agreed to a bilateral meeting, allowing it to be included in the agenda. That meeting led to the signing by both countries of a memorandum of understanding on legal cooperation that allowed for the Iranian citizens who had been accused, and who live in Tehran, to be deposed before the judge. But what happened when we signed that memorandum? It seemed as if all hell had broken out, both nationally and internationally. The Jewish associations that had sought our support for so many years and that had come here with us to ask for help turned against us, and when an agreement was finally reached on legal cooperation they accused us of complicity with the State of Iran. The same thing happened here in the United States. When the vulture funds lobbied before the United States Congress, they accused us of collaborating with the Islamic Republic of Iran, which at the time was known as the Terrorist State of Iran. They even lobbied on their websites, posting pictures of me on the Internet with former President Ahmadinejad as if we were business partners. Just this week, we learned that the iconic Waldorf Astoria hotel, in this city, was the setting for a meeting between the Secretary of State of this country and his Iranian counterpart. We are not criticizing them. Quite the contrary, anything that represents dialogue and understanding seems very good to us. But we wish to ask those who have been accusing Iran of being a terrorist State.
Argentina's Foreign Minister Hector Timerman and Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi met on the sidelines of the UN in
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
and promised to continue talks until the 1990s bombings are resolved.


Memorandum of understanding

On 27 January 2013, the Government of Argentina announced it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Iran to establish a "truth commission" to investigate the AMIA bombing. According to President Kirchner, the commission was established to "analyze all the documentation presented to date by the judicial authorities of Argentina and Iran...and to give its vision and issue a report with recommendations about how the case should proceed within the legal and regulatory framework of both parties." The news generated several criticisms with David Harris from the
American Jewish Committee The American Jewish Committee (AJC) is a civil rights group and Jewish advocacy group established on November 11, 1906. It is one of the oldest Jewish advocacy organizations and, according to ''The New York Times'', is "widely regarded as the wi ...
stating that "the idea of establishing a 'truth' commission on the AMIA tragedy that involves the Iranian regime would be like asking
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
to help establish the facts of
Kristallnacht ( ) or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's (SA) and (SS) paramilitary forces along with some participation from the Hitler Youth and German civilia ...
". The U.S.
State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...
's top official in charge of
Latin American Latin Americans (; ) are the citizenship, citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their Latin American diaspora, diasporas are Metroethnicity, ...
affairs, Assistant Secretary of State Roberta Jacobson, said she is "skeptical that a just solution can be found" through the Argentine-Iran "truth-commission." The Jewish community in Argentina issued the statement "to ignore everything that Argentine justice has done and to replace it with a commission that, in the best of cases, will issue, without any defined deadline, a 'recommendation' to the parties constitutes, without doubt, a reversal in the common objective of obtaining justice." On 28 February 2013, the
Argentine Chamber of Deputies The Chamber of Deputies (), officially the Honorable Chamber of Deputies of the Argentine Nation, is the lower house of the Argentine National Congress (). It is made up of 257 national deputies who are elected in multi-member constituencies c ...
approved the memorandum of understanding with Iran by 131 votes in favor to 113 votes against. Israel expressed disappointment at this development. Guillermo Borger, president of the AMIA, criticized the legality of the memorandum and announced that he would take it to the
Supreme Court of Argentina The Supreme Court of Argentina (), officially known as the Supreme Court of Justice of the Argentine Nation (, CSJN), is the highest court of law of the Argentine Republic. It was inaugurated on 15 January 1863. During much of the 20th century ...
. In May 2014, the memorandum was declared unconstitutional by the Court. The memorandum was voided when
Mauricio Macri Mauricio Macri (; born 8 February 1959) is an Argentine businessman and politician who served as President of Argentina from 2015 to 2019. He has been the leader of the Republican Proposal (PRO) party since its founding in 2005. He previously ...
became president of Argentina, as he withdrew the appeal that the Kirchners government had filed.


Recent developments

On 24 May 2013, it was reported that two of the Iranian AMIA bombing suspects accused of having planned the attack, Mohsen Rezai and
Ali Akbar Velayati Ali Akbar Velayati ( ; born 24 June 1945) is an Iranian conservative politician and physician. He is currently a member of the Expediency Discernment Council. Velayati is a distinguished professor at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Scien ...
, were candidates for the Iranian presidential elections. In May 2013, Prosecutor Alberto Nisman published a 502-page indictment accusing Iran of establishing terrorist networks throughout Latin America – including in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile, Colombia, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago and Suriname – dating back to the 1980s. Nisman also said new evidence underscored the responsibility of Mohsen Rabbani, the former Iranian cultural attache in Argentina, as mastermind of the AMIA bombing and "coordinator of the Iranian infiltration of South America, especially in Guyana", and said US court documents showed Islamist militant Abdul Kadir – who was sentenced to life in prison in 2010 for participating in a foiled plan to attack John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York – was Rabbani's disciple. The
Jewish Telegraphic Agency The Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) is an international news agency and wire service that primarily covers Judaism- and Jewish-related topics and news. Described as the "Associated Press of the Jewish media", JTA serves Jewish and non-Jewish news ...
reported that former Argentine interior minister Carlos Vladimir Corach was to be investigated for his ties to the bombing. He was alleged to have provided an illegal payment of $400,000 to Carlos Telleldin. In an interview with Buenos Aires-based Jewish news agency (Agencia Judía de Noticias) on 2 January 2013, Itzhak Aviran, who was the Israeli ambassador to Argentina from 1993 to 2000, said most of the people behind the AMIA attack were eliminated by Israeli security agents operating abroad. Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor called Aviran's declarations "complete nonsense". In January 2015, the prosecutor in charge of the AMIA bombing investigation, Alberto Nisman, filed a 300-page complaint accusing President
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner Cristina Elisabet Fernández de Kirchner (; born 19 February 1953), often referred to by her initials CFK, is an Argentine lawyer and former politician who served as the 56th president of Argentina from 2007 to 2015, and later as the 37th Vice ...
and Foreign Minister Héctor Timerman among other pro-government political figures of "covering up" Iranian citizens allegedly involved in the 1994 attack. Nisman said his accusations were based on phone taps on close political allies of Fernández, who he said conspired in a "sophisticated criminal plan" to negotiate with Rabbani himself, one of the main suspects of perpetrating the deadly bombing. According to the accusation, Iranian oil would be exchanged for Argentine grain, while Argentina would cancel an international Interpol arrest warrant against Rabbani and other senior Iranian officials. Nisman demanded a preventive embargo of 200 million pesos on Fernández de Kirchner and requested to question her, as well as Timerman, lawmaker of the pro-government organization "
La Cámpora La Cámpora is an Argentine left-wing political youth organization supporting the governments of Néstor Kirchner, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, and Alberto Fernández. It is named after former Peronism, Peronist president Héctor José Cá ...
" Andrés Larroque, political leader
Luis D'Elía Luis D'Elía is an Argentine activist and politician who served in the government of Néstor Kirchner. He is the founder and head of the Federation of Land, Housing and Habitat, which has been described as a "violent wing" of the Confederation of ...
, the leader of Quebracho Fernando Esteche, members of
Secretariat of Intelligence Secretariat of Intelligence of the State (, mostly known by its acronym SIDE) is the premier intelligence agency of the Argentina, Argentine Republic and head of its Sistema de Inteligencia Nacional, National Intelligence System. Chaired by the ...
, the leader of the Iranian community in Argentina Jorge "Yussuf" Khali, and ex attorney and judge Héctor Yrimia. On 18 January 2015, Nisman was found dead at his home in Buenos Aires, hours before he was due to explain his allegations at the Argentine parliament. A gun and spent shell casing were found next to the body, and a government official said the death was likely a suicide although others considered the death suspicious. The judge Ariel Lijo returned immediately from his vacations to work in the case, and to order the protection of Nisman's proofs. Nisman was replaced by prosecutor Alberto Gentili. In the week following Nisman's death, and despite the fact that Nisman was going to implicate her among others had he lived, President Fernández de Kirchner declared her determination to replace the Argentine secret security service completely because it had been run beyond the state's control for too long. In March 2015, three former Venezuelan government officials interviewed by '' Veja'' stated that
Hugo Chávez Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (; ; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician, Bolivarian Revolution, revolutionary, and Officer (armed forces), military officer who served as the 52nd president of Venezuela from 1999 until De ...
and
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (born Mahmoud Sabbaghian on 28 October 1956) is an Iranian Iranian principlists, principlist and Iranian nationalism, nationalist politician who served as the sixth president of Iran from 2005 to 2013. He is currently a mem ...
allegedly met in 2007 to discuss payments to the Argentine government of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in order for Iran to receive Argentine nuclear technology and the cessation of work between Argentina and Interpol involving Iranian individuals. In March 2015, the Argentine government released a full-page advertisement in national newspapers accusing the late prosecutor Alberto Nisman of having attempted to destabilise the country. The advertisement also argued that the country should revive a controversial agreement with Iran, the country that is suspected of being responsible for the bombings. In addition to that, during a speech, President
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner Cristina Elisabet Fernández de Kirchner (; born 19 February 1953), often referred to by her initials CFK, is an Argentine lawyer and former politician who served as the 56th president of Argentina from 2007 to 2015, and later as the 37th Vice ...
accused Israel of being responsible for the 1992 bombing of the Israeli embassy in Argentina. This accusation was based on the allegation that Israel was only demanding justice for the AMIA bombing but not for the embassy attack. This was immediately refuted by the Israeli embassy, which reaffirmed that it does in fact demand justice for both cases. In December 2015, Radio Mitre, an Argentinean station, released secret tapes of Héctor Timerman, in which he admitted Iran was responsible for the bombings concurrent to negotiating with Iran. On 26 February 2016, the Argentine prosecutor Ricardo Sáenz stated Nisman's death "was a homicide indeed", claiming the case should be directed to the federal justice. On 18 July 2019, at the request of Israel and the United States, Argentina officially declared Hezbollah a terrorist organization, freezing assets and expelling all members of the organization from the country, which is held responsible for the 1994 attack against AMIA. In 2021, the Tribunal Federal Oral 8 declared the case against Cristina Fernández de Kirchner over an alleged cover-up of Iranian involvement in the bombing to be null and void; the court unanimously found no wrongdoing on Kirchner's part. In 2023, on appeal, the Federal Chamber of Cassation revoked the dismissal that Cristina Fernández de Kirchner had benefited from and ordered her to be tried for the alleged cover-up for which Alberto Nisman accused her regarding the Argentina-Iran Memorandum of Understanding. The relatives of the victims of the AMIA attack had demanded that the oral trial against the former president be held. The reasons are that "the accused persons are attributed to the organization of a complex criminal plan to achieve or favor the impunity of the Iranian citizens suspected of having participated in the terrorist attack on the AMIA headquarters through two parallel channels, one formal - with the signing of the memorandum of understanding - and another informal, with unofficial negotiations." On 11 April 2024, the Argentine Court of Cassation ruled based on confidential intelligence reports that Iran was responsible for planning the attack and Hezbollah for carrying it out. It stated that the attack was launched in retaliation for the Argentine government reneging on three nuclear cooperation agreements that would have provided Iran with nuclear technology, with the intent of putting pressure on Argentina to reverse its decision. The ruling allows the families of victims to pursue Iran for compensation through the
International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute ...
by establishing that both the AMIA bombing and the 1992 Buenos Aires Israeli embassy bombing were
crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are certain serious crimes committed as part of a large-scale attack against civilians. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity can be committed during both peace and war and against a state's own nationals as well as ...
, and that states that finance and plan terror attacks can be held responsible for them even when the attack is carried out by a non-state actor. It also included a resolution calling on Argentina to lodge a formal complaint against Iran in international courts. Following the ruling, Israel requested that Argentina designate the
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), also known as the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, is a multi-service primary branch of the Islamic Republic of Iran Armed Forces, Iranian Armed Forces. It was officially established by Ruhollah Khom ...
as a terrorist organization.


Alleged assassinations of perpetrators

In January 2014, Yitzhak Aviran, who had been Israel's ambassador to Argentina at the time, claimed in an interview with a Spanish-language Jewish newspaper that most of the perpetrators of the attack had been tracked down and killed by
Mossad The Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations (), popularly known as Mossad ( , ), is the national intelligence agency of the Israel, State of Israel. It is one of the main entities in the Israeli Intelligence Community, along with M ...
, Israel's secret service, saying "a majority of those responsible for the act are no longer alive, and we took care of this on our own." Aviran's statements caused concern in Argentina, whose Foreign Minister, Héctor Timerman, accused Israel of having thus "prevented the gathering of new evidence that could shed light on the affair." Argentina also summoned the Israeli chargé d'affaires to ask for explanations about Aviran's statements. For its part, the Israeli government, through its own Foreign Ministry, dismissed Aviran's claims as "complete nonsense."


Other opinions

According to a report in ''
The Nation ''The Nation'' is a progressive American monthly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper ...
'', the author claims that James Cheek, United States Ambassador to Argentina at the time of the bombing, told him, "To my knowledge, there was never any real evidence f Iranian responsibility They never came up with anything." The hottest lead in the case, he recalled, was an Iranian defector named Manoucher Moatamer, who "supposedly had all this information." But Moatamer turned out to be only a dissatisfied low-ranking official without the knowledge of government decision-making that he had claimed. "We finally decided that he wasn't credible," Cheek recalled.


Cultural depictions

In 2009, Marcos Carnevale directed '' Anita'', a full-length film which portrays a young woman (Alejandra Manzo) with Down Syndrome who is lost in Buenos Aires after her mother is killed in the AMIA bombing.


See also

* Israeli embassy attack in Buenos Aires * History of the Jews in Argentina * Argentina–Israel relations * Pasteur - AMIA (Buenos Aires Underground) – station commemorating the bombing


References


External links


Investigations Unit of the Office of the Attorney General, 25 October 2006, indictment for AMIA bombing, English translationFormula Denuncia, Ministerio Público de la Nación (Spanish) – Nisman's formal charge of impeding the investigation against the President and Foreign Ministerarchive
Iran's view from IRNA
BBC: Pressure on Iran over Argentina blasts"Argentine bomb police 'to testify'"
17 September 2003; BBC News
"Flashback: Argentina bomb"
25 August 2003; BBC News
"Iran denies Argentina blast role"
9 March 2003; BBC News
Pictures from the tenth anniversary commemorationMemoria Activa, memorial site
(including official documents) {{Iran–Israel proxy conflict 1994 in international relations 1990s in Buenos Aires 1994 murders in Argentina 20th-century attacks on Jewish institutions 20th-century mass murder in Argentina Antisemitism in Argentina 1994 building bombings Building bombings in South America Crime in Buenos Aires Car and truck bombings in 1994 Islamic terrorism in Argentina Islamic terrorist incidents in 1994 Argentina–Iran relations Argentina–Israel relations Iran–Israel proxy conflict Hezbollah–Israel conflict Jewish Argentine history Jews and Judaism in Buenos Aires July 1994 crimes July 1994 in South America Mass murder in 1994 Presidency of Carlos Menem South Lebanon conflict (1985–2000) State-sponsored terrorism Suicide bombings in 1994 Suicide car and truck bombings in Argentina Terrorist incidents by unknown perpetrators Terrorist incidents in Argentina in the 1990s Terrorist incidents in South America in 1994 Unsolved mass murders Hezbollah attacks Attacks on buildings and structures in Argentina