Lead

BUENOS AIRES — Iran's chargé d'affaires to Argentina, Mohsen Soltani Tehrani, has been declared persona non grata and given 48 hours to leave the country, sparking a war of words between the two nations.

Argentine Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno announced the expulsion in a social media post on Thursday, according to the Buenos Aires Times. The Foreign Ministry characterized the measure as a response to a recent statement by Iran's Foreign Ministry containing “false, offensive and unfounded accusations” against Argentina and its authorities.

Coverage Comparison

Coverage from outlets including Al Jazeera, TASS, and the Buenos Aires Times agrees on the core sequence of events: Argentina's government, led by President Javier Milei, designated Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization in late March. Tehran's subsequent condemnation of that move triggered Buenos Aires's decision to expel Tehrani.

No reporting suggests the expulsion was caused by any other factor. However, coverage from the Buenos Aires Times includes a direct rebuttal from Tehrani, who argues the expulsion was based on a misinterpretation of his government's statements.

Key Claims

  • Expulsion Ordered: Argentina formally declared Iran's chargé d'affaires person non grata, ordering him to leave the country within 48 hours, as confirmed by TASS and subsequent reports. Reports in the Buenos Aires Times, however, note that Tehrani contends he was able to remain in post during a grace period.
  • Casus Belli: The decision was made in response to an Iranian Foreign Ministry statement that rejected Buenos Aires's designation of the IRGC as a terrorist group.
  • Tehran's Stance: Iran's Foreign Ministry condemned the designation, calling it an “action against Iran's security and national interests.”
  • Expulsion Response: In an interview with the Perfil newspaper, as reported by the Buenos Aires Times, Tehrani stated that “expelling the only diplomat does not benefit Argentina, it only makes things worse.”
  • AMIA Case: Argentina's Foreign Ministry cited Iran's “persistent refusal” to cooperate with the Judiciary in the AMIA bombing case, as well as alleged failures to comply with international arrest orders.

Perspectives

Tehrani placed the dispute in a wider context, arguing that Argentina's decision is not “a sovereign decision” but rather an alignment with the United States and Israel in their military campaigns. "It is not that we condemn Argentina for having relations or alignment with the United States or Israel," he said, as quoted by the Buenos Aires Times. "What we criticise is that the President says Argentina is part of the aggression against Iran... That is something very serious."

Argentina's Foreign Ministry contended that Argentina “will not tolerate insults or interference from a State that has systematically failed to meet its international obligations and continues to obstruct the course of justice.”

Iran's Foreign Ministry accused Argentina of making its decision under the influence of “the genocidal and occupying Zionist regime,” a reference to Israel—a claim that was not independently verified. The ministry also warned that blacklisting the IRGC would “inflict serious damage on bilateral relations” and “create a dangerous precedent in intergovernmental relations.”

Analysis and Context

The expulsions come against a backdrop of rising regional tensions, with the US and European Union having previously blacklisted the IRGC according to Al Jazeera, and with Iran's official statements citing regional conflicts. TASS noted that Iran's foreign ministry had previously urged respect for the sovereignty of regional nations, a principle that, it said, is being “grossly violated” by military actions in the region.

Tehrani left Buenos Aires on Friday, telling reporters he was being expelled for refusing to step down. “I am leaving in 48 hours because they have sent me out the same way they do in the worst dictatorships,” he said, as cited by Reuters. His calls for recalling the ambassadors were not taken up by the Argentine foreign ministry.