Argentina offered Iran to 'forget' its role in Jewish center bombing

Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner















Paper says Argentina would be prepared to 'freeze investigations of terrorist bombings attributed to Iran in 1992 and 1994, in exchange for renewing and improving trade relations between the countries, which at their height reached $1.2 billion a year.'

In secret negotiations with Iran, Argentina has offered to "forget" the bombings of the Israeli embassy and the Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, in 1992 and 1994, respectively, in exchange for improved relations between the two countries.

According to the Argentine weekly Perfil, which broke the story yesterday, Foreign Minister Hector Timerman is personally involved in the talks. The Argentinean Foreign Ministry has so far declined comment.

For his report, the veteran investigative reporter Pepe Eliaschev relied on a classified document that indicated the Argentinean government "would be ready to freeze the investigations of terrorist bombings attributed to Iran in 1992 and 1994, in exchange for renewing and improving trade relations between the countries, which at their height reached $ 1.2 billion a year."

According to the article, Timerman made the offer via Syrian President Bashar Asad and Foreign Minister, Walid Moallem, who were brought in as mediators.

The three met in Syria on January 23, and the details of the conversation were conveyed to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Timerman, Argentina's first Jewish foreign minister, addressed the annual commemoration on March 17 of the embassy bombing.

"I stand here as a representative of the Argentinean government, determined to do justice in this matter," Timerman told the crowd.

He also reminded his audience in her speech to the UN General Assembly in September, President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner called on Tehran to agree to allow Iranian citizens accused of involvement in the attack to be brought to justice in a third country.

In the 1992 embassy bombing, 29 people were killed and 242 were injured. In the bombing at the AMIA Jewish community center, two years later, 85 people were killed and more than 300 were injured.