Argentina Seeks US Help in Solving 1994 Bombing With Suspected Iran Involvement
The Argentine foreign affairs minister has sent letters to both the U.S. and Israel requesting American involvement in the 1994 AMIA bombing investigation. Argentina remains embroiled in controversy following the death of investigator Alberto Nisman who was in charge of the AMIA case.
Foreign Affairs Minister Hector Timerman released two letters on Tuesday. One was addressed to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and the other to Israel's Foreign Affairs Minister Avigdor Lieberman. In the letters, Timerman asks for the U.S. to rejoin the AMIA investigation through the U.S. current negotiations with Iran.
"Today, I am asking you again that the AMIA issue be included in the negotiations with the Islamic Republic of Iran," wrote Timerman.
He lamented the last time U.S. rejected Argentina's "request that the cause of the terrorist attack on the headquarters of the Mutual Jewish Community Center (AMIA) be included in the negotiations."
AMIA bombing that occurred in 1994 claimed the lives of 85 people, and it is believed Iranian agents perpetrated the attack.
Nisman had accused Argentine President Fernandez de Kirchner and Minister Timerman of covering up Iranian involvement in the attack in exchange of oil, and now the two politicians face charges.
"We are also concerned to see how propaganda mechanisms are used overtly or covertly for such purposes. My country rejects such acts, and we don't want them to happen in our territory," wrote Timerman in the letters.
The Argentine government has made previous claims that Nisman was manipulated by outside forces.
Timerman could be alluding to these rumors in the letter.
However, the State Department has no intention of bringing up the AMIA issue when negotiating with Iran.
"As it relates to the Iran negotiations, the Iran negotiations remain focused on the nuclear issue. That will continue," Jen Psaki, State Department spokesperson, said in a Feb. 17 press briefing.
Psaki explained the U.S. had contributed to the investigation for the past 20 years, adding, "the special prosecutor staff must not stop the pursuit of those responsible for this brutal terrorist attack."
The two identical letters were submitted to the U.S. and Israeli ambassadors in Buenos Aires.
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