Iran declares Argentina’s Navy and Air Force ‘terrorist organizations’

Iran has classified Argentina’s Navy and Air Force as “terrorist organizations,” the country’s Foreign Ministry announced on Wednesday.

The move comes in response to President Javier Milei’s decision to include Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Argentina’s registry of terrorist groups.

Tehran justified the measure on the grounds of reciprocity and warned that Argentina would have to “bear the consequences” of its decision.

In an official statement, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said the measure was backed by a 2019 law that provides for action against countries that support or endorse the United States’ decision to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization.

“The Argentine Navy and the Argentine Air Force are subject to the provisions of the aforementioned law and are hereby designated as terrorist organizations,” Iranian authorities stated.

They also described Buenos Aires’ decision as “hostile” and issued a stern warning, saying the Argentine government will “bear responsibility for all the consequences” arising from this action.

However, they provided no details about what measures Iran might take next.

A long history of tensions The latest escalation stems primarily from President Milei’s decision to add Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to Argentina’s registry of terrorist organizations. The Argentine government justified the move, announced in March, on the basis of official reports linking the country’s military force to international criminal activities and attacks carried out on Argentine soil.

The incidents cited include the 1992 bombing of the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires and the July 1994 attack on the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA in Spanish). 

The two attacks killed 29 and 85 people, respectively. Argentina’s judiciary has attributed responsibility to members of the Iranian regime and Hezbollah.

Beyond this latest episode, relations between the two countries had already deteriorated as a result of previous diplomatic decisions. In April, the Argentine government expelled Iran’s top diplomatic representative in Buenos Aires, Mohsen Soltani Tehrani.

In early November, Iran had taken a similar step against the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy and Royal Air Force, while also describing British intelligence agency MI6 as a hostile group. In both cases, Iranian authorities invoked the same principle of reciprocity.

Originally published in Ámbito