Israel disappointed about Argentina’s talks with Iran
Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner was elected in 2007 after her husband Nestor Kirchner died. While he was president, some referred to the couple as the “Clintons of the South.”
Israel said it was greatly disappointed by Argentina's decision to meet with Iran to discuss two 1990s bombings in Buenos Aires that targeted Jewish organizations.
According to Reuters, Argentine courts had accused Tehran of sponsoring the attacks, one of which killed 85 a Jewish community center, and the other that killed 29 at the city's Israeli Embassy. Argentina President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner ordered her Foreign Minister Hector Timerman to accept the request from Iran to discuss the incidents in New York this week, the first time the two countries will address the bombings directly.
More from GlobalPost: Argentina and Iran to discuss 1990s Buenos Aires bombings
On Friday, the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires warned that Iran can't be trusted, and Jewish leaders in Argentina expressed "great disappointment" about the meeting, reported the Associated Press. Timerman then quickly met with Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman to assure him that Argentina would not be fooled. Argentina "has always kept at the center of its decisions the victims and their families, seeking a court ruling that takes into account Argentina's legal system," he said, according to a Foreign Ministry statement.
Ties between Argentina and Iran have been at a standstill since authorities were able to secure Interpol arrest warrants for five Iranians and a Lebanese in 2007 in relation to the community center bombing, Reuters noted. Iran has denied having any link to both attacks.