Iran Designates Argentina’s Navy and Air Force as Terrorist Organisations

Iran has designated Argentina’s navy and air force as terrorist organisations, escalating tensions between Tehran and Buenos Aires following Argentina’s earlier decision to classify Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist group.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry announced the designation on Wednesday, citing a 2019 law that allows the country to take retaliatory measures against states that label its military forces as terrorist organisations.

In a statement, the ministry said Tehran “deems the Argentine Navy and the Argentine Air Force subject to the aforementioned law and its provisions, and designates them as terrorist organisations.”

Argentina designated the IRGC, the ideological arm of Iran’s military, as a terrorist organisation in late March. Buenos Aires cited the group’s alleged support for Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant organisation.

The Argentine government has also accused the IRGC of involvement in the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish community centre in Buenos Aires, which killed 85 people and injured hundreds. Iran has faced longstanding allegations over the attack.

It remains unclear what practical consequences Iran’s latest designation will have for Argentina’s military or bilateral relations between the two countries.

The move follows a similar decision by Tehran earlier this month, when it designated the United Kingdom’s intelligence agency, MI6, as a hostile group and classified the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force as terrorist organisations.