The Argentine government condemned on Wednesday the Iranian government's decision to appoint Ahmad Vahidi as Minister of the Interior, as he is one of those accused of carrying out a bombing attack against a Jewish center in Buenos Aires that resulted in 85 deaths in 1994. The foreign ministry stated, "Argentina once again strongly condemns the appointment of Ahmad Vahidi to a ministerial position in Iran."
It added, "The government of Alberto Fernández declares that the appointment of Ahmad Vahidi to a position in the Iranian government, specifically the Ministry of the Interior, constitutes an affront to the Argentine judiciary and the victims of the terrorist attack against the Argentine Israeli society."
The foreign ministry noted that Vahidi's appointment as Minister of Defense since August 2009 "has raised considerable concern within the Argentine government and deserves the strongest condemnation." Vahidi is one of the senior Iranian officials pursued by the Argentine judiciary, which accuses him of having played a "fundamental role in the decision-making and planning of the attack that occurred on July 18, 1994," for which an Interpol international arrest warrant has been issued.
Twenty-seven years after the attack, no one has been arrested. Argentina also urged the new Iranian government to cooperate so that the individuals accused by the Argentine judiciary can be tried before competent courts in this country, where the law does not allow for trials in absentia.
Every year on July 18, thousands of Argentinians gather in the capital, Buenos Aires, to commemorate the bombing of the "AMIA" Jewish cultural center. In the memory of the incident in 2018, the U.S. State Department tweeted about the necessity to prosecute those responsible for the AMIA explosion. The tweet stated, "On this day, twenty-four years ago, members of Hezbollah, planned and ordered by the Iranian regime, bombed the Jewish center, and it is time to bring the conspirators to justice."
The Buenos Aires explosion of 1994 is considered the deadliest in Argentine history. The blast occurred after a suicide bomber drove a vehicle loaded with 275 kilograms of explosives into the center. In 2006, Argentine authorities accused Iranian officials and leaders of Hezbollah of being behind the explosion, notably Ali Akbar Velayati, Mohsen Rezaei, Ahmad Vahidi, Ali Fallahian, and Imad Mughniyeh.
