The Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA; transl. "Argentine Israelite Mutual Association"), a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, was bombed on 18 July 1994. Executed as a suicide attack, a bomb-laden van was driven into the AMIA building and subsequently detonated, killing 85 people and injuring over 300. To date, the bombing remains the deadliest terrorist attack in Argentine history. In 1994, Argentina was home to a Jewish community of 200,000, making it the largest in Latin America and the sixth-largest in the world outside of Israel.
Over the years, the AMIA bombing has been marked by accusations of cover-ups. All suspects in the "local connection" (among them, many members of the Buenos Aires Provincial Police) were found to be not guilty in September 2004. In August 2005, federal judge Juan José Galeano, who was in charge of the case, was impeached and removed from his post on a charge of "serious irregularities" due to his mishandling of the investigation. In 2005, Catholic Church cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who became Pope Francis in 2013, was the first public personality to sign a petition for justice in the AMIA bombing case. He was one of the signatories on a document called "85 victims, 85 signatures" as part of the bombing's 11th anniversary.
On 25 October 2006, Argentine prosecutors Alberto Nisman and Marcelo Martínez Burgos formally accused the Iranian government of directing the bombing, and the Lebanese Islamist militant group Hezbollah of carrying it out. According to the prosecution's claims in 2006, Argentina had been targeted by Iran after Buenos Aires' decision to suspend a nuclear technology transfer contract to Tehran. This has been disputed as the contract was never terminated, and Iran and Argentina were negotiating on the restoration of full cooperation on all bilateral agreements from early 1992 until 1994, when the bombing occurred.
In 2024, an Argentine court ruled that Iran directed the attack, and that it was carried out by Hezbollah. The ruling also characterized Iran as a terrorist state.
Bombing
On 18 July 1994, a suicide bomber drove a Renault Trafic van bomb loaded with about 275 kilograms (600 lb) of ammonium nitrate fertilizer and fuel oil explosive mixture, into the Jewish Community Center building located in a densely constructed commercial area of Buenos Aires. The explosive is thought to have been arranged to focus the blast on the building 3 to 5 metres (10 to 16 ft) away, exhibiting a shaped charge or explosively formed penetrator effect. The exterior walls of this five-story building were of brick masonry construction, which supported the floor slabs. The air blast from the bomb totally destroyed the exposed load-bearing walls which, in turn, led to progressive failure of the floor slabs and virtually total collapse of the building. Such bearing-wall buildings are notable for their tendency to be brought down in this manner by localized damage.
Other bombings
The bombing came two years after the 17 March 1992 bombing of the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires which killed 29 and wounded 242, and was Argentina's deadliest attack until the AMIA bombing. The Islamic Jihad Organization, which according to Robert Baer operates under the umbrella of Hezbollah and is linked to Iran, claimed responsibility for that bombing. It was suspected that the AMIA bombing was connected to the embassy attack. To date, authorities have been unable to locate those responsible for either of the two bombings.
The day after the AMIA attack, a suicide bombing on a Panamanian commuter plane killed all 21 passengers, 12 of whom were Jews. Investigators determined that the bombing was perpetrated by a "Lya Jamal" – thought to be "an Arab traveling under an alias, using fraudulently obtained Colombian documents."
Eight days after the AMIA attack, the Israeli embassy in London was car-bombed, and thirteen hours later a similar car bomb exploded outside a Jewish community centre in London. No one was killed but 22 were injured and "millions of pounds of damage" was done. Five Palestinians were later arrested in London and two convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison in connection with the bombings.
Investigation and responsibility
The prosecutor Alberto Nisman accused Iran in 2006 of directing the attack, and the Hezbollah militia of carrying it out.
In 2018 judicial authorities announced that former President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner would face trial on charges she covered up the role of Iranians in bombing. Federal Judge Claudio Bonadio said that eleven other former officials and people close to Kirchner's government would also be tried on charges of cover-up and abuse of power. Kirchner has denied the charges.
No suspects have been convicted for the bombing and there have been a number of allegations made, with later investigations charging the government of Iran. The investigations were marred by incompetence. In 1999 an arrest warrant was issued against Hezbollah member Imad Mugniyah in connection with the attack. Argentine justice accused Tehran in 2006 of being behind the attacks, and indicted several senior Iranian officials, including Hashemi Rafsanjani and Ahmad Vahidi, as well as Hezbollah's Imad Mughniyah. It was speculated that Hezbollah was exacting revenge for Israel killing 40 people in Baalbek, Lebanon on 2 June 1994. In 2007, several of the charged were placed on Interpol's most wanted list, though bylaws prevented listing top officials such as Rafsanjani. As of 2017 the charged suspects (who remain alive) remain fugitives. In August 2021, two of the charged suspects, Ahmad Vahidi and Mohsen Rezaee, were appointed to government of Ebrahim Raisi in the posts of interior minister and vice president of economic affairs, respectively.
Claim of responsibility
Shortly after the attack Ansar Allah, a Palestinian Jihadist organization widely held as a front for Hezbollah, reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack, and for the Alas Chiricanas Flight 901 bombing via leaflets distributed in Sidon and a communique in the Lebanese newspaper An-Nahar.
Ibrahim Hussein Berro
Israeli diplomatic sources who read the "final" report by SIDE on the attack said in 2003 that the attack was a suicide bombing carried out by Ibrahim Hussein Berro, a 21-year-old Hezbollah operative, and that he had been subsequently honored with a "martyrdom" plaque in Southern Lebanon. In 2005, Argentine and U.S. prosecutors objected to the September 9 date alleged by Hezbollah in which he "died in combat against" the Israeli army as an attempt to cover up his role in the attack because they viewed the fact that his body had not been shown to his family or at his funeral with suspicion and had "established" that this clash happened on September 7 in Tallusa. This investigation was carried out jointly with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Hussein had been identified by FBI and Argentine intelligence, and corroborated by at least three witnesses. According to official Argentine government prosecutor, Alberto Nisman, Hussein's two U.S.-based brothers had testified that he had joined the radical Shia militant group Hezbollah. "The brothers' testimony was substantial, rich in detail and showed that he was the one who was killed," Nisman added.
A BBC correspondent reported that independent investigators were skeptical, and they pointed out repeated incompetence and deception in the official investigation. No proper autopsies or DNA tests were done. The police had also simply dumped a head, thought to be that of the bomber, into a bin.
On 5 July 2017, The Algemeiner reported that DNA, not assignable to any of the victims, has been identified. This new evidence will allow investigators to test the prevailing suspicion that the bombing was committed by Ibrahim Hussein Berro.
Juan José Galeano's investigations
Federal judge Juan José Galeano followed investigations concerning the "local connection", which included members of the Policía Bonaerense (Buenos Aires Provincial Police). He quickly arrested Carlos Telleldín, alleged to have provided the van used in the bombing, and some 20 officers from the Bonaerense. But a video broadcast on Argentine TV showed him offering Telleldín $400,000, in return for evidence, which led to Galeano's removal from the case in 2003, and his impeachment in August 2005.
Judge Galeano had also issued warrants for the arrests of 12 Iranians, including Hade Soleimanpour, Iran's ambassador to Argentina in 1994. The latter was arrested in the UK on 21 August 2003, at the request of the Argentine authorities. He was later released because, according to the Home Office, there was not even enough evidence presented to make a prima facie case for the extradition to proceed.
Judge Galeano also interviewed Abolghasem Mesbahi, aka "Witness C", an alleged former Iranian intelligence officer who reportedly said a former Argentine president accepted a $10 million payment from Tehran to block the investigation. Former President Carlos Menem denied the claims, but admitted he had a secret Swiss bank account following a report in The New York Times. Menem claimed in 2004 that the attack had been related to his support to the US during the First Gulf War and to his visit to Israel during his mandate. Abolghasem Mesbahi claimed to the Argentine court that Iran had planned the bombing, thinking the centre was a base for the Israeli secret service.
On 2 September 2004, all suspects in the "local connection" (among whom members of the Buenos Aires police) of AMIA case were found to be not guilty. Five persons, including four policemen, were therefore acquitted because of lack of evidence.
On 3 August 2005, Judge Galeano's impeachment was successful, and he was formally removed from his post as a federal judge for "serious" irregularities and his mishandling of the investigation. Judge Galeano has denied these allegations.
In March 2005, Swiss judge Jacques Antenen, in charge of investigations concerning the murder of an Iranian dissident, re-opened the case concerning Iranian intelligence service bank accounts in Switzerland. The same account would have been used both for this assassination and for the alleged payment of ex-President Carlos Menem. Swiss Justice had already been notified of the existence of an account owned by the Red Spark Foundation (based in Liechtenstein), in which Ramón Hernández, former secretary of Carlos Menem, had authority to sign documents. Six million dollars would have been deposited in this account, although in some moment the exact amount was said to be of $10 million.
In 2006, the Court of Cassation declared that the previous court had made a false version of the investigated acts in order to cover irresponsibilities.
Investigations under Néstor Kirchner's government
Néstor Kirchner's government issued a decree in July 2005 formally accepting a share of the blame for the failure of investigations about the attack. He called the unresolved investigations a "national disgrace." President Kirchner said governments had covered up facts, and that the decree established a mechanism for victims to receive compensation. Shortly after assuming his functions in spring 2003, he opened up Argentine intelligence files on the case, and lifted a decree preventing SIDE agents from testifying in the case.
Argentina's justice, Israel, and the United States suspected in 2005 that Hezbollah was behind the attack, with backing from Iran. Hezbollah has denied responsibility. The Iranian government maintains its innocence, condemning the terrorist attack and calling for urgent punishment of those responsible.
On 25 October 2006, prosecutors in Buenos Aires formally charged Iran and Shi'a militia Hezbollah with the bombing, accusing the Iranian authorities of directing Hezbollah to carry out the attack and calling for the arrest of former President of Iran Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani and seven others, including some who still hold official positions in Iran.
The Justice of Argentine called for the arrest of top Iranian authorities. The Iranian defense minister, Ahmad Vahidi was accused of masterminding the attack.
Argentine's government required the extradition of those accused of the attack but Iran has always refused to accept the verdict of the Argentine's Justice.
In November 2007, Interpol on behalf of the Argentine government, published the names of six individuals (Imad Mughniyah, Ali Fallahijan, Mohsen Rabbani, Ahmad Reza Asghari, Ahmad Vahidi and Mohsen Rezaee) officially accused for their role in the terrorist attack. They were entered in the Interpol red notice list.
On 26 October 2006, speaking on state radio, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hoseyni described the accusations against the country as "a Zionist plot". Both Hezbollah and Iran deny any involvement in the bombing. According to Hoseyni, the accusations were intended to divert "world attention from the perpetration of crimes by the Zionists against women and children in Palestine".
On 6 March 2007, former Congressman Mario Cafiero and former government official Luis D'Elia said they had traveled to Iran where they had received "evidence" from the Iranian government. The evidence alleged that two of the AMIA witnesses were "terrorist dissidents". They also said that there were arrest warrants issued by Interpol for the other two Iranians, Hadi Roshanravani and Hamid Reza Eshagi. D'Elia accused the United States government of reaching an "agreement" with the AMIA witnesses in exchange for their testimony. Laura Ginsber, head of APEMIA ("Agrupacion por el Esclarecimiento de la Masacre Impue de la AMIA) responded that D'Elia's trip to Iran was "not innocent", and that it could be linked with "trying to generate business with Iran".
Developments under Cristina Fernández de Kirchner's government
In November 2008, Carlos Menem was called to testify in an upcoming trial over the AMIA case.