Ahmad Reza Asghari
Encyclopedia
Ahmad Reza Asghari, was an Iran
ian diplomat accused of organizing terrorist acts in Argentina
.
Asghari was the third secretary of the Iranian embassy in Buenos Aires
"until his abrupt departure from Argentina" on July 1, 1994.
In November 2006, Argentine Judge Rodolfo Canicoba Corral issued international arrest warrants for Asghari and eight other men — six other Iranians and one Lebanese — in connection to the July 18, 1994, suicide bombing of a Jewish cultural center in Buenos Aires. The AMIA bombing resulted in the murder of 85 people and serious injuries to 151.
According to an Argentine government investigative report on the bombing "Mr. Asghari was one of the highest placed persons in charge of the attack, and was also responsible for activating the clandestine networks of Iranians in Argentina".
The report stated that Asghari was present at an August 14, 1993, meeting with former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani
and his top deputies in the Iranian city of Mashad where the decision was made to commit the terrorist attack.
Prior to his posting in Argentina, Asghari "had served in Iran's renowned Revolutionary Guard", according to the Argentine investigative report.
Mr. Asghari's "name surfaced as a delegate to a 2002 U.N. conference in Geneva
, where he was listed as the Iranian foreign ministry's first secretary in the department for international economic affairs", according to Brett Stephens, an editorial columnist at The Wall Street Journal
.
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian diplomat accused of organizing terrorist acts in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
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Asghari was the third secretary of the Iranian embassy in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
"until his abrupt departure from Argentina" on July 1, 1994.
In November 2006, Argentine Judge Rodolfo Canicoba Corral issued international arrest warrants for Asghari and eight other men — six other Iranians and one Lebanese — in connection to the July 18, 1994, suicide bombing of a Jewish cultural center in Buenos Aires. The AMIA bombing resulted in the murder of 85 people and serious injuries to 151.
According to an Argentine government investigative report on the bombing "Mr. Asghari was one of the highest placed persons in charge of the attack, and was also responsible for activating the clandestine networks of Iranians in Argentina".
The report stated that Asghari was present at an August 14, 1993, meeting with former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani
Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani is an influential Iranian politician and writer, who was the fourth President of Iran. He was a member of the Assembly of Experts until his resignation in 2011...
and his top deputies in the Iranian city of Mashad where the decision was made to commit the terrorist attack.
Prior to his posting in Argentina, Asghari "had served in Iran's renowned Revolutionary Guard", according to the Argentine investigative report.
Mr. Asghari's "name surfaced as a delegate to a 2002 U.N. conference in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
, where he was listed as the Iranian foreign ministry's first secretary in the department for international economic affairs", according to Brett Stephens, an editorial columnist at The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
.