In a brief but aggressive statement Iran’s Foreign Ministry, has denied all charges leveled against the country in a report by the Argentine Prosecutor Alberto Nisman last week in which he said Iran was planning terrorist attacks against targets across the continent.
According to the official news agency IRNA, the Ministry said that “due to the prosecutor’s background and Zionist character, we won’t consider his statements important”.
Nisman is in charge of investigating the 1994 AMIA bombing which killed 85 people. In a 500-page-long indictment he accused Iran of infiltrating several South American countries in order to “commit, foster and sponsor terrorist attacks.“
Nisman said intelligence actions had been carried out in Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile, Colombia, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago and Surinam, and he requested Interpol to arrest those Iranians accused of being involved in the attack. He also accused Tehran of "making dual use of diplomatic agencies as well as cultural and charitable associations to conceal terrorist activities".
Argentine courts have charged eight current and former senior Iranian officials over the bombing, including Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi and ex-Revolutionary Guards Commander Mohsen Rezai. Both are candidates in next week’s presidential election in Iran. Also among the accused is former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. In statements to Argentinean media, Nisman said that the suspects “would be in prison in any part of the world, but in Iran they run for president.”
The prosecutor said he had in his possession “documents signed by top authorities in Iran” that proved the planned operation of the Islamic Republic that led to the killing of 85 people in Buenos Aires City on 18 July 1994.
“I have the certainty that that this is irrefutable proof. Any prosecutor who sits in my office will reach to the same conclusions because evidence leads to that,” Nisman stated and urged Interpol to “maximize precaution to stop the accused” so that the suspects can be questioned. “(Iran) is a terrorist state that backs them”, he insisted.
Last January, Argentina signed a controversial agreement with Iran to advance in the AMIA investigation. Buenos Aires said it would continue to uphold the accord despite Nisman’s charges.
