VZCZCXYZ0001
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBU #0520/01 0780924
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 190924Z MAR 07
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7584
INFO RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHMFISS/FBI WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHMFISS/HQ USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL PRIORITY
RHMFISS/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L BUENOS AIRES 000520 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
WHA FOR A/S SHANNON, DASDUDDY, AND DMCCARTHY, WHA/BSC FOR 
BARNES, FRIEDMAN, AND BLAKENEY NEA/IR FOR HWOOSTER, S/CT 
FOR VIRGINIA PALMER AND ARNOLD SIERRA, NSC FOR JUAN ZARATE 
AND JOSE CARDENAS, FBI FOR CTD IRAN-HIZBALLAH UNIT AND OIO 
AMERICAS UNIT 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/05/2017 
TAGS: PTER PREL PGOV KJUS AR FBI
SUBJECT: ARGENTINE GOVERNMENT WELCOMES AMIA DECISION 
PRIVATELY, BUT QUIET PUBLICLY 
 
REF: A. 1. BUENOS AIRES 422 2) BUENOS AIRES 375 3) 
        BUENOS AIRES 312 
     ¶B. 4) BUENOS AIRES 263 AND PREVIOUS 
 
Classified By: AMBASSADOR E. ANTHONY WAYNE FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D) 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary: On March 15, Interpol Executive Committee 
(EC) recommended by consensus the issuance of Red Notices 
against five Iranian officials and one Hizballah - Islamic 
Jihad Organization (IJO) leader wanted in connection with the 
July 18, 1994 suicide bombing of the Argentine-Israeli Mutual 
Association (AMIA), but turned down the GoA's request against 
three other former top Iranian officials, including former 
President Hashemi Rafsanjani.  Apart from press reports 
quoting AMIA Special Prosecutor Alberto Nisman as saying "We 
won", GoA reaction so far has been relatively quiet.  Under 
Secretary for Political Affairs Luis Cappagli told DCM the 
 
SIPDIS 
GOA did not intend to issue a press statement.  He added that 
the GOA fully expects the GOI to appeal the decision, but 
that the unanimity of the EC decision would have a very 
favorabe impact on a future vote by the Interpol General 
Assembly in November.  In a separate conversation, Vice 
Foreign Minister Garcia Moritan called Ambassador to express 
thanks for USG assistance in rallying Interpol EC support and 
the judge in the case similarly expressed his sincere 
appreciation for help. 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  Local press coverage has depicted the Interpol 
decision as a victory for the GoA, with two articles 
criticizing the USG decision to support the EC's 
reccomendation not to publish the Red Notices for top Iranian 
officials.  Reactions from the Jewish community were mixed, 
with leaders from AMIA and the Delegation of Israeli and 
Argentine Associations (DAIA) applauding the announcement but 
expressing disappointment regarding Interpol's recommendation 
to issue only six of the nine Red Notices.  Meanwhile, on 
March 16th First Lady Cristina Kirchner and four government 
ministers attended a ceremony commemorating the 15th 
anniversary of the terrorist bombing of the Israeli Embassy 
in which Israeli officials repeatedly blamed Iran and 
Hezbollah for the attack.  Although President Kirchner did 
not attend the ceremony, he stated that the bombing was "an 
attack on the people of Argentina" and stressed that the GOA 
would not back down on its commitment to investigate the case 
to the very end.  End Summary. 
 
----------------- 
Interpol Decision 
----------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) On March 15, Interpol Executive Committee (EC) 
approved by consensus the issuance of Red Notices for six of 
the nine AMIA subjects as recommended by Interpol's Legal 
Department.  A senior GOA source reported that the only EC 
representative who did not attend the March 15 vote was the 
Brazilian representative, given possible GOB concerns over 
complicating its relations with Iran.  The Red Notices were 
approved for five Iranian officials and one Hizballah - 
Islamic Jihad Organization (IJO) leader wanted in connection 
with the July 18, 1994 AMIA suicide bombing, which killed 85 
people and wounded more than 150.  The approved applications 
included former Minister of Intelligence and current Assembly 
of Experts member Ali Fallahijan, former IRGC Commander and 
current Expediency Council member Mohsen Rezai, former Quds 
Force leader and current Deputy Defense Minister Ahmad 
Vahidi, former Iranian Embassy (Buenos Aires) Cultural 
Attache Mohsen Rabbani, and former third secretary of the 
Iranian Embassy Ahmed Reza Asghari (a.k.a. Mohsen 
Randjbaran).  The report named Hizballah terrorist leader 
Imad Mughniyah as well.  As expected, Interpol's EC denied 
the GOA's request to issue Red Notices for Iran,s former 
President and current chairman of the Expediency Council Ali 
Akbar Rafsanjani, former Foreign Minister and current 
Khamenei advisor Ali Akbar Velayati, former Ambassador of 
Iran (Buenos Aires) Hadi Soleimanpour.  Interpol EC decided 
against issuing a Red Notice against Soleimanpour based on a 
lack of adequate new evidence.  Interpol's EC justified its 
decision not to issue Red Notices against Rafsanjani and 
Velayati because Interpol's mandate specifically prohibits it 
from interfering in the internal political affairs of other 
 
countries.  We understand that the Red Notices will be 
published on April 1 if Iran does not appeal the decision by 
March 31.  Iran's Charge in Buenos Aires, Mohsen Baharvand, 
said the Iranian government would appeal the decision and 
blames "USG political pressure" for the decision.  Should 
Iran appeal the decision, Interpol will hold the Red Notices 
in abeyance until the matter can be voted on by Interpol's 
General Assembly in November. 
 
¶4.  (C)  GoA reaction so far has been relatively quiet; 
Special Prosecutor Alberto Nisman's publicly stated that the 
Interpol decision indicated strong support for the GoA 
investigation.  But the press carries no other GoA official 
reaction to the Interpol announcement.  Under Secretary for 
Political Affairs Luis Cappagli told DCM that senior 
leadership in the MFA and Interior Ministries were very 
pleased with the outcome, but that the GOA did not intend to 
issue a press statement.  He added that the GOA fully expects 
the GOI to appeal the decision, but that the unanimity of the 
EC decision and the Legal Department's recommendation would 
favorably impact a future vote by the Interpol General 
Assembly in November.  In a separate conversation, Vice 
Foreign Minister Garcia Moritan called Ambassador to thank 
him for USG assistance in rallying Interpol EC support.  He 
specifically expressed thanks to Secretary Rice and Under 
Secretary Burns.  The investigating judge in the case, 
 
SIPDIS 
Rodolfo Canicoba Corral, also told Ambassador how much he 
appreciated U.S. support in the runup to Lyon.  He said he 
would have like to get all the Red Notices issued, but 
understood U.S. concerns. 
 
--------------------------------------------- 
Press Mostly Positive, But Critics Accuse USG of 
"Short-Sightedness" for leaving out Top Iranian Officials 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The Argentine media has given prominent coverage to 
Interpol's ruling, largely depicting it as a victory for the 
GoA, especially in light of Interpol's decision to rescind 
Argentina's Red Notices in September 2005.  Press reports 
commonly describe Interpol's unanimous decision as 
reaffirming the integrity and legitimacy of Argentina's 
claim, even if it does not make certain that the bombing was 
masterminded by the Iranian intelligence apparatus and 
Hezbollah.  One opinion piece cited progress on the AMIA case 
as a direct outcome of improved U.S.-Argentine relations, 
while others criticized the U.S. decision to support the EC's 
reccomendation not to publish the Red Notices for top Iranian 
officials.  One article accuses the USG of 
"short-sightedness" for prioritizing concerns that the USG 
would be setting a precedent for rival governments to seek 
the extradition of U.S. leaders by voting in favor of issuing 
a red notice against former president Rafsanjani.  Another 
alleges that the arrest of top Iranian officials would be 
inconvenient for Washington's Middle East strategy, 
specifically describing Rafsanjani as a "key politician" in 
U.S. efforts to counterweigh Ahmadinejad. 
 
---------------------------------------- 
Mixed Reaction from the Jewish Community 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Reactions to the Interpol decision from the 
Argentine Jewish community have been mixed.  Luis Grynwald, 
President of thr AMIA, and Angel Schindel, Vice-president of 
the Delegation of Israeli and Argentine Associations (DAIA), 
have applauded the announcement, stating that the unanimous 
verdict proves the strength of GoA's case.  Grynwald and 
Schindel both expressed disappointment regarding Interpol's 
recommendation to issue only six of the nine Red Notices, and 
maintained that the GoA still has the option to appeal.  They 
stated that the decision was not a surprise, claiming that 
Interpol never pursues high level officials.  A few press 
reports, on the other hand, indicated that family members of 
victims of the bombing have criticized Interpol's ruling as 
insufficient, since it does not include all nine suspects. 
 
----------------------------------------- 
Kirchner: Israeli Embassy Bombing was "An Attack on the 
People of Argentina" 
 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (C)  The Interpol decision was made on the eve of the 
15th anniversary of the 1992 bombing at the Israeli Embassy 
which killed 29 people.  On March 16, First Lady Cristina 
Kirchner, Foreign Minister Jorge Taiana, Defense Minister 
Nilda Garre, Justice Minister Alberto Iribane, Education 
Minister Daniel Filmus, and Buenos Aires Mayor Jorge Telerman 
attended a ceremony commemorating the attack.  In addition, 
the Israeli Ambassador Rafael Eldad, Israel's MFA Secretary 
General Aaron Abramovich, and the Israeli Ambassador to the 
UN Dan Gillerman who lost his wife in the attack, delivered 
speeches during the ceremony and blamed the Iranian 
government and Hezbollah for the attack.  They, along with a 
representative from the Jewish community, mentioned 
Interpol's recommendation to issue Red Notices in the 1994 
AMIA bombing, describing the decision as a sign of 
"international affirmation" for the pursuit of truth and 
justice.  FM Taiana also spoke at the ceremony, noting that 
the Argentine Supreme Court decided in 2006 that there was no 
statute of limitations for the case.  He also emphasized that 
the GOA will continue to pursue every individual involved in 
the planning and execution of the bombing.  President 
Kirchner did not attend the ceremony, but expressed his 
solidarity with the Jewish community from Patagonia three 
hours earlier and in an indirect reference to his wife, noted 
that he was sending a "penguina" to the event.  (Note: 
Kirchner often refers to himself and his inner circle as 
"penguins.")  Kirchner stated that the Israeli Embassy 
bombing was "an attack on the people of Argentina" and 
stressed that the GOA would not back down on its commitment 
to investigate the case to the very end.  FM Taiana 
reiterated this sentiment in his speech.  After the ceremony, 
Vice Minister of Defense Ocampo told Ambassador that 
Argentina is united behind the effort to seek justice in the 
1992 and 1994 bombings, stating "We're all one."  Later that 
day, the press quoted the Ambassador, who described Taiana's 
remarks as "a clear stance against terrorism" and that the 
U.S. and Argentina share a common goal in fighting terrorism. 
 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶8.  (C)  Iran's likely decision to appeal Interpol's EC 
recommendation will, ironically, keep the issue alive in the 
Argentine press in the runup to a November Interpol General 
Assembly vote.  Kirchner's statement that the Embassy bombing 
was an attack on the people of Argentina was suprising, as 
many in and out of the GOA have often stated that the attack, 
as well as the AMIA bombing, were only directed at the Jewish 
community.  Although the GOA's public rhetoric at the 
commemoration ceremony for the attack on the Israeli Embassy 
is positive, it remains to be seen whether the GOA will 
follow through in pursuing justice for the attack. 
Nevertheless, Christina's attendance at the event and her 
upcoming visit to Venezuela on March 23-24 to meet with the 
Jewish community there, foreshadows a likely Presidential bid 
by the First Lady and signals to Caracas that Argentina will 
remain firm in its commitment to pursue justice in the AMIA 
case despite Venezuela's alliance with Iran.  Unlike the 
Chavez event, the ceremony was televised in its entirety. 
WAYNE