Israel protests Argentina's joint inquiry with Iran

Israel has sent a letter of protest to Argentina following the Buenos Aires government's decision to allow Iran to take part in a joint investigation into the 1994 terrorist bombing of a Jewish center in the Argentinean capital that killed 85 people.

In a diplomatic note sent by Israel's Foreign Ministry, Tel Aviv reminded the administration of President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner that Iran remains politically isolated by the United Nations because of its ongoing nuclear program.

After meeting with angry Jewish leaders in Buenos Aires, Foreign Minister Héctor Timerman explained Tuesday that Argentina was not giving up its "sovereignty" in the investigation with the signing of a memo of understanding with Tehran.

"I came here to clarify doubts about what is in the memorandum," Timerman said after meeting with members of the Argentinean Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA), whose center was bombed on July 18, 1994. "We agreed [with Iran] that the trial will be held here in Argentina, with Argentinean judges and prosecutors."

Besides the 85 people killed, more than 300 were injured. No one has been put on trial for the attack but Argentinean authorities have said that Iran was behind the plot. In 2007, a judge issued warrants for six Iranians suspected of the bombing.

Seeking justice

The victims and the survivors of the blast have been seeking justice for nearly 20 years. Last December, Timerman and Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi met on the sidelines at the United Nations to discuss the joint memo. The contents of that letter were released on Sunday.

"It was explained to them that the Iranians are continuing with their nuclear program despite opposition from the international community, and that they are trying to look for a way out of that isolation through Argentina," an Israeli diplomatic source told Efe news agency on Tuesday.

Much to Washington's concern, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been actively trying to seek broader ties with some left-leaning governments in the region, including Venezuela, Bolivia, Nicaragua and Ecuador.

On December 29, US President Barack Obama enacted a law to counter Iran's influence in Latin America, through new diplomatic and political strategies to be drafted by the State Department.