Argentina on Thursday declared Iran’s chargé d’affaires in Buenos Aires, Mohsen Soltani Tehrani, persona non grata and ordered him to leave the country within 48 hours.
The decision came in response to “the communiqué issued yesterday by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which contains false, offensive, and unfounded accusations against the Argentine Republic and its highest authorities,” Buenos Aires said in a statement posted to X.
Tehran had accused Argentinian President Javier Milei—an ally of U.S. President Donald Trump—and his foreign minister, Pablo Quirno, of being complicit in the U.S.-Israeli military campaign against it.
Argentina’s Foreign Ministry slammed the statement as “an unacceptable interference in the internal affairs of our country and a deliberate misrepresentation of decisions adopted in accordance with international law and the national legal system.
“This latest aggravating act is added to the persistent refusal of the Islamic Republic of Iran to cooperate with Argentinian justice in the investigation of the AMIA bombing, as well as its repeated non-compliance with international arrest and extradition orders for those responsible,” it stated. “Likewise, it is particularly serious that individuals sought by Argentinian justice have been appointed to high-ranking positions within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.”
Argentina has blamed the Iranian-backed Hezbollah for a 1994 attack on the Jewish community center in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people and wounded more than 300 others, the deadliest bombing in the South American country’s history.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar on Thursday night praised his Argentinian counterpart for a “courageous and inspiring decision.”
Buenos Aires “stands as a model for defending the values of freedom and leading the fight against terrorism,” Jerusalem’s top diplomat wrote.
“The Iranian regime is murderous toward its own citizens and its neighbors; it is the number one threat to global order and security. It is not legitimate. Period,” he added.
On Tuesday, Argentina’s Presidential Office announced that Buenos Aires designated the IRGC as a terrorist organization. The decision will allow the implementation of financial sanctions and other restrictions against the Islamic regime.
Milei has broken with decades of foreign policy by positioning himself with the United States and Israel, and has emerged as one of the most vocal supporters of the Jewish state around the globe.
“This decision ... places Argentina ... at the forefront of the free world in the fight against the Iranian regime of terror and its proxies,” Sa’ar posted on X on Wednesday. “With this decision, President Milei—one of the greatest leaders of our generation—has once again demonstrated moral clarity and an unwavering commitment to the values of freedom and the fight against its enemies.”
