New hope for Argentina’s Iran policies

THE ANNOUNCEMENT this week by Argentina’s new president-elect, Mauricio Macri, that one of his first moves would be to seek to repeal the controversial Memorandum of Understanding with Iran, has been met with praise from Jewish groups.

The pact, signed by the Argentinian and Iranian Foreign Ministers in Addis Ababa in 2013, committed both countries to jointly investigate the 1994 bombing of the Amia Jewish centre in Buenos Aires, which killed 85 people and wounded more than 300.

The Argentinian authorities have since accused eight Iranians of responsibility for the Amia attack — including the former president, Ali Rafsanjani — and have demanded their extradition.

Julio Schlosser, president of DAIA, the umbrella group of Argentinian Jewish organisations, said Mr Macri’s announcement “undoubtedly generates an air of tranquillity”.

Jack Terpins, president of the Latin American Jewish Congress, described Mr Macri’s comments as “hugely significant for the Jewish community”.