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August 29, 2003/Elul 1 5763, Vol. 55, No. 53
Argentina arrests Iranian diplomat
RICHARD ALLEN GREENE
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
LONDON - Most Argentine Jewish leaders are pleased with the arrest of an Iranian believed to be connected to the 1994 terrorist attack on AMIA, Buenos Aires' main Jewish community center.
"We are very enthusiastic with the arrest" because it reflects "a remarkable change in this new Kirchner era," said Fabio Kornblau, the secretary of the AMIA Youth Department, referring to Argentine President Nestor Kirchner.
The arrest of Hade Soleimanpour, Iran's am-bassador to Argentina at the time of the July 18, 1994, bombing that killed 85 people and wounded 300, took place Aug. 21 in Britain.
Intelligence authorities in Argentina and Israel have long believed that Iran was behind the terrorist attack, which was Argentina's deadliest to date.
As a result of the arrest, Iran has cut cultural and commercial ties with Argentina, and has warned Britain that diplomatic relations will be harmed.
That AMIA attack followed a terrorist bombing in 1992 at the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires, which killed 29 people and which also remains unsolved.
Kirchner ordered the release of Argentine intelligence information on the bombing soon after taking office this spring, reversing an order by the previous Argentine pres-ident, Eduardo Duhalde, that sealed the files.
The Argentine Jewish community - South America's largest - welcomed Kirchner's involvement in the case. It was in sharp contrast to his predecessors, whom Jewish Argentines accused of failing to push hard enough for justice.
Soleimanpour appeared in court Aug. 22. He will remain in custody until his next court appearance on Aug. 29.
Iran has condemned the arrest of the former diplomat, who had been working as a research assistant at the University of Durham in northern England. Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi released a statement saying, "The measure has been politically motivated and has been carried out under the influence of the Zionists."
Israel welcomed the arrest and praised Argentina for pursuing Soleimanpour. "We are very happy that the Argentines themselves issued the warrant" for the arrest, said Shuli Davidovitch, press secretary at the Israeli Embassy in London.
An Argentine judge, Juan Jose Galeano, issued warrants for the arrest of Soleimanpour and seven additional Iranian citizens in the week before the former Iranian ambassador was seized.
Argentina demanded the extradition of four other Iranians in March, sparking a diplomatic war of words between Tehran and Buenos Aires.
Several former Argentine police officers and an auto mechanic have been on trial in Buenos Aires in connection with the bombing for nearly two years. That trial is expected to conclude before the end of the year.
But Israeli intelligence officials in particular have long insisted that re-sponsibility for the bombing goes much higher - to the very top levels of the Iranian government.
JTA correspondent Florencia Arbiser contributed to this story from Buenos Aires.
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