Free Republic

Radical Islam in Latin America By Chris Zambelis In the wake of the September 11 attacks, the possibility of al-Qaeda infiltrating Latin America became a priority for U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials. However, the most publicized incidents of radical Islamist activity in Latin America have not been linked to al-Qaeda but instead to the Lebanese Shi’ite Hezbollah, which is ideologically and politically close to Iran. These include the March 1992 bombing of the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina and the July 1994 attack against the Argentine-Israeli Mutual Association (AIMA), also in the Argentine capital, allegedly in retaliation for...

Iran on Friday condemned the recent move by the British police to detain Iran's former ambassador to Argentina, Hadi Soleimanpour, stressing that the measure had been politically motivated. "The measure had been politically motivated and has been carried out under the influence of the Zionists. It is meant to serve the interests of the Zionist regime," said Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi, according to IRIB. Jewish sources based in Buenos Aires have claimed that Soleimanpour was arrested in a London suburb on Thursday. Marta Nercellas, the lawyer representing the Amia Jewish Community Center, has claimed that Soleimanpour was among those...