Iran classifies Argentine Navy and Air Force as 'terrorist organizations'

Iran classified the Argentine Navy and Air Force on Wednesday (11) as "terrorist organizations" based on the "principle of reciprocity", the Iranian Foreign Ministry said.

In March, the government of Argentine President Javier Milei declared the Revolutionary Guard, the ideological army of the Islamic Republic, as a "terrorist organization", which allows it to apply "financial sanctions and operational restrictions" to Iran.

Argentina accuses the Revolutionary Guard of supporting the Lebanese group Hezbollah, to which it attributes two attacks committed in Buenos Aires: the first in 1992 against the Israeli embassy, with a total of 29 dead, and another two years later against the Jewish community center AMIA, in which 85 people died and hundreds were injured.

In 2019, Iran passed a law that allows the country to take reprisals against any state that designates its military forces as terrorist organizations.

Iran's Foreign Ministry classified the Argentine government's decision as a "hostile measure."

"In accordance with the principle of reciprocity and based on the 2019 law, Iran declares that the Argentine Navy and the Argentine Air Force are subject to the provisions of the aforementioned law and designates them as terrorist organizations," says the Iranian government's statement.

"The Argentine government will assume responsibility for all consequences arising from this action", adds the note, without specifying possible measures.

Since his arrival as president in December 2023, Milei has aligned himself with the United States and Israel, which he considers his main allies, and supported the joint attack by the two countries against Iran at the end of February, which triggered the war in the Middle East.

In April, the Argentine government expelled Iran's main diplomatic representative in Buenos Aires, Mohsen Soltani Tehrani, from the country.

Before the war in the Middle East, in January, Buenos Aires designated the Quds Force, a branch of the Revolutionary Guard, as a "terrorist organization."

Javier Milei and his sister, Karina, during the open mass of Pope Leo XIV this Monday (9) in Buenos Aires — Photo: Reuters