Iran blacklists Argentina's navy and air force in tit-for-tat move

Rastinews — Iran announced Tuesday that it now recognizes Argentina's navy and air force as "terrorist organizations." The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the decision was made under the "principle of reciprocity."

The ministry said the move draws on a 2019 law passed by Iran's parliament. The law allows Iran to take similar measures against countries that adopt or support the United States' designation of the Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist group.

The statement called Argentina's designation of the Revolutionary Guard a "hostile act" and a violation of international law. Tehran said the Argentine government would bear responsibility for any consequences that follow, without specifying what those might be. The statement made no mention of Argentina's army.

Milei's government acted in late March

Argentine President Javier Milei's government added the Revolutionary Guard to the country's registry of people and entities linked to terrorism on March 31. The decision followed a call from the U.S. administration for its allies to take similar action.

Buenos Aires justified the move by citing the Revolutionary Guard's support for Lebanon's Hezbollah. Argentina holds Iran and Hezbollah responsible for the 1992 bombing of the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires and the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish community center, which killed 85 people. Iran denies any involvement in the attacks.

In January, Argentina had already designated the Revolutionary Guard's external operations arm, the Quds Force, as a terrorist organization.

Britain was the target in early November

According to Reuters, Tehran's decision is the latest in a series of retaliatory moves against Western countries. In early November, Iran designated Britain's Royal Navy and Royal Air Force as terrorist organizations and classified the British foreign intelligence service MI6 as a "hostile group."