Iran behind Buenos Aires bombing. (Insider Report).

A high-level defector from Iran's intelligence, Abdolghassem Mesbahi, testified that Iran ordered and masterminded one of the worst terrorist attacks in Argentina's history. According to Mesbahi, the Tehran government was responsible for the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish Center in Buenos Aires, killing 85 people and wounding more than 200. Mesbahi's testimony also supplies a clue as to the possible reasons why the case has remained unsolved for so many years and why repeated investigations and trials have been "botched." The Iranian defector alleges that Iran bribed former Argentine President Carlos Menem with $10 million to cover up Tehran's involvement.

The new revelations could significantly impact Argentina's upcoming presidential primary and the general election next year. Menem, president from 1989 to 1999, is planning a comeback and is considered a top contender for the presidency. The New York Times reported Mesbahi's charges on July 23rd, basing the story on the transcript of a 100-page sealed deposition by the defector provided to the Times by Argentine officials frustrated over the failure to solve the case.

The reported Mesbahi allegations correspond with other evidence in the case consistently pointing toward Iran. As we reported in THE NEW AMERICAN in our April 24, 2000 article, "Colombia: A Narco-Vietnam," Iran and its Hezbollah terrorist arm have been building networks in Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, and Venezuela for years, and Hezbollah has been "implicated in attacks on the Israeli embassy and a Jewish cultural center in Argentina."