In the latest opinion on the case of the 1994 bombing of the Jewish center of Buenos Aires (AMIA bombing), the highest criminal court in Argentina ruled that the Iranian regime orchestrated the attack, and the Lebanese Hezbollah terrorist group carried it out.
The explosion at the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) in Buenos Aires on July 18, 1994, resulted in the deaths of 85 people and injuries to 300 Argentine citizens of Jewish descent, marking the deadliest terrorist attack in Argentine history.
In a verdict published on Thursday, April 11, the Argentine appeals court held Hezbollah responsible for the bombing and stated that the attack was carried out in retaliation for Argentina’s withdrawal from a nuclear cooperation agreement with Tehran.
By confirming the “political and strategic” role of the Iranian regime in the bombing, the Argentine court paved the way for the families of the victims to file lawsuits against the Iranian regime.
Over the past three decades, Tehran has not extradited those convicted in Argentina in connection with this case, and the arrest warrants issued by Interpol against them have not been enforced.
Among the accused in this case are Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani (former president), Ali Akbar Velayati (former foreign minister), Ali Fallahian (former intelligence minister), Mohsen Rezaee (former commander of the Revolutionary Guards), Ahmad Reza Asghari (former third secretary of the Iranian embassy in Argentina), Ahmad Vahidi (former commander of the Quds Force), Mohsen Rabbani (former cultural attaché of the Iranian regime in Argentina), and Imad Mughniyeh (former head of Hezbollah’s special operations).
The Argentine appellate court stated that the significance of these severe human rights violations for the international community as a whole imposes a duty on a state to provide legal support.
This verdict described the bombing of the AMIA Jewish center as a “crime against humanity.”
According to The Associated Press, the Argentine appellate court’s decision in this case was not unexpected.
The Argentine judiciary has long regarded Iran as the perpetrator of this attack, and relations between the two countries have deteriorated, especially after the failure of a joint investigation.
The court, while specifying the role of senior officials of the Iranian regime and the commanders of the Revolutionary Guards in this attack, stated that Iran planned this bombing in response to the cancellation of three agreements with Argentina, which could have provided Tehran with nuclear technology in the mid-1980s.
Previous investigations into the AMIA bombing targeted not only Iranian officials but also two former Argentine presidents.
In 2014, the body of lawyer Alberto Nisman, who had accused then-Argentine president Cristina Kirchner of covering up this case, was discovered in his apartment in Buenos Aires one day before he was to present his report to the Argentine parliament.
The Associated Press reported that over the past years, witnesses in this case have been threatened or bribed.
The verdict on Thursday came just a few months before the 35th anniversary of the AMIA explosion.
On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of this attack, Argentina designated Hezbollah as a terrorist organization and froze the financial assets of this group.
Around 230,000 Jews live in Argentina, and their representatives described Thursday’s verdict as “historic.” According to The Associated Press, for the relatives of those killed in the bombing, this verdict was only a painful reminder, as the case remains unresolved.
