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...

UK Holds Iran Ex-Envoy Over Buenos Aires Jewish Bombing August 21, 2003 Reuters Gideon Long LONDON -- Iran's former ambassador to Argentina was arrested by British police on Thursday in connection with the 1994 bombing of a Buenos Aires Jewish center which killed 85 people, Scotland Yard said. Hadi Soleimanpour, ambassador at the time of the attack on the AMIA Jewish Community Center, was arrested on an extradition warrant and would appear before London magistrates on Friday, the British police said in a statement. Last week, a judge in Argentina issued an arrest warrant through Interpol for Soleimanpour, 47, and...

Iranian President Mohammad Khatami said on Sunday Iran would take "strong action" over the arrest of its ex-ambassador to Argentina in connection with the bombing of a Jewish center in Buenos Aires in 1994. Ex-envoy Hadi Soleimanpour, 47, was arrested in Britain on Thursday after Argentina requested his extradition in connection with the AMIA Jewish Community Center blast that killed 85 people. Iran has called for Soleimanpour's immediate release and calls the case is politically motivated, a charge dismissed by Britain. Iran said on Saturday it was cutting economic and cultural ties with Argentina because of the arrest. "The Iranian...

Iran ex-envoy held in bomb probe A former Iranian ambassador to Argentina, wanted there in connection with the 1994 bombing of a Jewish cultural centre, has been arrested in the UK. The former ambassador, Hadi Soleimanpour, is due to appear in court in London on Friday. Magistrates will decide whether to extradite him to Argentina to face charges of conspiracy arising from the attack, in which 85 people were killed. The Argentine intelligence service has long believed Iran was behind the car bomb attack in Buenos Aires - a charge Iran has repeatedly denied. Mr Soleimanpour was arrested in northern...