Milei Expels Iran’s Chargé d’Affaires as Buenos Aires-Tehran Confrontation Escalates
Key Facts
— — Argentina declared Mohsen Soltani Tehrani, Iran’s chargé d’affaires and highest-ranking diplomat in Buenos Aires, persona non grata — giving him 48 hours to leave the country
— — The expulsion follows Iran’s appointment of Ahmad Vahidi — accused by Argentine prosecutors of planning the 1994 AMIA bombing that killed 85 people — as head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
— — President Milei designated the IRGC’s Quds Force a terrorist organization two days ago, prompting an Iranian statement accusing Argentina’s government of complicity in US-Israeli military strikes on Iran
Argentina expelled Iran’s top Argentina Iran diplomat on Thursday, declaring chargé d’affaires Mohsen Soltani Tehrani persona non grata and ordering him to leave the country within 48 hours. The move represents the most severe diplomatic action between the two countries in years and places Buenos Aires squarely in the US-Israeli camp of the ongoing conflict with Iran.
The Trigger
Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno announced the expulsion in response to a statement issued Wednesday by Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs — communicated through its embassy in Uruguay, given the minimal bilateral relationship — that accused President Javier Milei and Quirno himself of being “complicit” in US and Israeli military strikes against Iranian territory. Iran’s foreign ministry called Argentina’s recent IRGC designation a “strategic error and an unjustifiable insult to the Iranian people.”
Argentina’s foreign ministry said it “will not tolerate offenses or interference from a state that has systematically failed to comply with its international obligations and persists in obstructing the advance of justice.” The statement invoked Article 9 of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations — the standard legal framework for expelling foreign diplomats.
The Escalation Timeline
The expulsion caps a rapid escalation. In January, Milei signed a decree designating the IRGC’s Quds Force and thirteen individuals linked to its overseas operations as terrorists, citing the 1992 Israeli Embassy bombing (29 dead) and the 1994 AMIA Jewish community center attack (85 dead) — the deadliest terrorist attack in Argentine history. Both remain unprosecuted. On March 9, Milei declared at Yeshiva University in New York that “Iran is our enemy” and described himself as “the most Zionist president in the world.”
Tensions spiked further when Iran appointed Ahmad Vahidi — one of the individuals accused by Argentine prosecutors of planning the AMIA bombing and subject to an Interpol Red Notice — as head of the Revolutionary Guard. Argentina’s foreign ministry said judicial investigations and intelligence work had determined that both attacks “were planned, financed, and executed with direct participation of the Iranian regime and IRGC operatives.”
Iran’s Response
Tehran dismissed the expulsion. In a statement released through its Montevideo embassy, Iran’s foreign ministry condemned what it called an “illegal action” taken “under the influence of the occupying and genocidal Zionist regime and the United States.” It warned that Milei and Quirno had placed themselves “on the wrong side of history.” The Tehran Times, widely seen as reflecting the views of Iran’s religious and political leadership, had earlier warned that Argentina had crossed an “unforgivable red line.”
Why It Matters for LATAM
The expulsion is the most visible sign yet of Milei’s strategic alignment with Washington and Jerusalem on the Iran conflict — a positioning that distinguishes Argentina from most of its Latin American neighbors, who have taken more neutral or critical stances on the US-Israeli strikes. For Argentina’s economy, the immediate risk is indirect: Iran has historically used energy supply disruptions and proxy networks to retaliate against perceived enemies. With the Strait of Hormuz crisis already reshaping global oil markets, any further escalation between Buenos Aires and Tehran adds geopolitical risk to a country that is simultaneously trying to attract foreign investment, stabilize its currency, and rebuild international credibility.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief
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