Argentina declares Iran's top diplomatic envoy 'persona non grata,' orders expulsion

Argentina has declared Iran’s top diplomat in the country “persona non grata” and ordered him to leave the country within 48 hours, the Foreign Ministry in Buenos Aires announced on Thursday.

Mohsen Soltani Tehrani, an adviser currently serving as interim chargé d’affaires, has been ordered to leave national territory immediately, said Argentina’s Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno in a post on social media.

The measure comes in response to a statement by Iran’s Foreign Ministry containing “false, offensive and unwarranted accusations” against Argentina and its authorities, the ministry said in a communiqué.

“Such statements constitute an unacceptable interference in the internal affairs of our country and a deliberate misrepresentation of decisions adopted in accordance with international law and the national legal framework,” the Foreign Ministry said.

Argentina “will not tolerate insults or interference from a State that has systematically failed to meet its international obligations and continues to obstruct the course of justice,” the Foreign Ministry statement continued.

Argentina’s government also pointed to Iran’s “persistent refusal” to cooperate with the Judiciary in the case of the AMIA bombing, as well as its failure to comply with international arrest and extradition orders.

Argentina said it was “particularly serious” that individuals wanted by the courts had been appointed to high-ranking positions within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

On March 17, 1992, a van packed with explosives rammed into the Israeli embassy, killing 22 people and injuring more than 200. Two years later, another attack on the AMIA Jewish community centre left 85 dead.

Argentina’s courts have attributed both attacks to Iran and the cases remain unsolved.

Two days ago, Argentina designated Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a “terrorist organisation,” in line with the interests of the United States and Israel, both of which President Javier Milei has fully backed in the war in the Middle East.

“The Argentine Republic will not tolerate insults or interference from a State that has systematically failed to meet its international obligations and continues to obstruct the course of justice. We reaffirm our unwavering commitment to memory, justice and the fight against terrorism, as well as full respect for international law,” the statement concluded.

– TIMES/AFP/NA