Iran designates Argentinian navy, air force as ‘terrorist organisations’

The government of Iran has announced it will designate the naval and air forces of Argentina as “terrorist organisations”, in a tit-for-tat response to how the South American country designated its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in March. Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Wednesday that it considers the two branches of the Argentinian military “terrorist organisations” by “the principle of reciprocity”. The statement does not mention Argentina’s army.

“It is evident that the responsibility for all consequences arising from this matter will lie with the Argentine government,” the statement adds. Argentina’s foreign ministry responded with a statement of its own saying that it “categorically rejects” Iran’s designation. Wednesday’s back-and-forth, however, is not the first time that relations between Iran and Argentina have been strained.

Argentina blames the Iran-backed group Hezbollah for a deadly bombing attack on the AMIA Jewish community centre in Buenos Aires in 1994, which killed 85 people and injured hundreds more.