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Iran accused of Latin America terror plot, report

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State prosecutor Alberto NismanAn Argentine prosecutor has accused Iran of establishing terrorist networks in Latin America dating back to the 1980s.

State prosecutor Alberto Nisman, who is investigating the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community centre in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people, accused Iran on Wednesday of “infiltrating” South America and setting up intelligence networks to carry out terrorist attacks in the region.

Nisman accused Mohsen Rabbani, Iran’s former cultural attache in Buenos Aires and a suspect in the bombing, of working continually over the last two decades to develop an intelligence network in Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile, Colombia, Guyana, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago.

Nisman said the attack that destroyed the Argentine-Israeli Mutual Association building was no isolated incident, but “part of a much larger plot, in which the role of Rabbani was not limited to Argentina but extended as far as Guyana, as well as being responsible for coordinating these activities across all of South America.”

“These are sleeper cells. They have activities you wouldn’t imagine. Sometimes they die having never received the order to attack,” Nisman said as he presented a 500-page indictment.

He said Iran has sought “to infiltrate the countries of Latin America and install secret intelligence stations with the goal of committing, fomenting and fostering acts of international terrorism in concert with its goals of exporting the revolution.”

‘Truth commission’

The indictment now goes to the judge overseeing the case, Rodolfo Canicoba Corral. Nisman said he also sent copies to the countries he named, in keeping with Argentina’s international agreements, so that they too can take action.

The prosecutor has tried for years in vain to get Rabbani and other the suspects extradited to face trial in Argentina.

Iran denies any involvement in Argentina’s worst terrorist attack, but has agreed to set up a “truth commission” to facilitate Nisman’s taking their testimony in Tehran. Nisman said it is not his role to comment on that accord, which has been harshly criticised by Argentine Jewish leaders.

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez has close ties with other Latin American leaders who are on good terms with Tehran, such as Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro and Ecuador’s Rafael Correa.

Her government had no immediate comment on Nisman’s report, which reinforced concerns voiced by Jewish leaders in Buenos Aires about the Argentine-Iranian commission.

The forming of the commission was seen as a diplomatic win for Iran as it confronts a US-led effort to isolate Tehran because of its nuclear program, which Western nations fear is aimed at attaining nuclear weapons.

Also on Wednesday, Canada said it will freeze all remaining trade with Iran to protest the Tehran’s nuclear ambitions and its human rights record.

Canada shut its embassy in Tehran in September 2012 and ordered Iranian diplomats to leave, accusing the country of being the most significant threat to world peace.

Al Jazeera

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6 responses to “Iran accused of Latin America terror plot, report”

  1. 5thDrawer Avatar
    5thDrawer

    Islam Africa – What I could call ‘The Drug Religion’ … These Bit’s from a BBC report:

    The marginalisation of poorer communities – both in rural areas and smaller towns – and minority ethnic groups has further alienated them from the governing classes.
    Disgruntled young men have been happy to join radical groups that not only offer them an ideology, but money. (all is about money, right? 😉
    And it is the widespread drug trafficking in the region that is believed to have enriched militant groups.
    Details about the operations are sketchy – large amounts of money are involved to ensure secrecy and loyalty.
    Drugs from South America are taken across Africa to Europe, where they are more profitable and marketable.
    A kilogramme of cocaine bought in Latin America for $3,000 (£1,990) can be sold in the capitals of West Africa for about $16,000; in North Africa it sells for $25,000 and can fetch about $45,000 in Europe.
    AQIM (about 450 hardened bosses in that cell) has its roots in groups in Algeria, Libya and Tunisia. One of its key affiliates is the well-disciplined Mujao group, which was active in Mali and claimed responsibility for last week’s Niger attacks.
    There is also believed to be a connection between AQIM and the growing piracy of the Gulf of Guinea – similar to the situation in Somalia where the al-Qaeda affiliated al-Shabab group has strong links with pirates operating in the Indian Ocean.
    In both cases the main objective is to expand the source of their funding and to enlarge their popular support through redistribution of the loot.
    Last summer also saw reports of a liaison between the Islamist militants in the Sahel, al-Shabab and a few other “informal units” operating in the porous borders area between Chad, Libya and Sudan.
    Al-Shabab militants were reported to have travelled overland to Mali disguised as Koranic students or merchants.
    Combatants presently fighting on far fronts, such as Syria, may well return – whether victorious or defeated – to boost the morale and numbers of the Saharan radical groups confronted by French troops.

    1. master09 Avatar
      master09

      Disguised as Koranic students. Now it’s all for the holy book rite.

  2. 5thDrawer Avatar
    5thDrawer

    Islam Africa – What I could call ‘The Drug Religion’ … These Bit’s from a BBC report:

    The marginalisation of poorer communities – both in rural areas and smaller towns – and minority ethnic groups has further alienated them from the governing classes.
    Disgruntled young men have been happy to join radical groups that not only offer them an ideology, but money. (all is about money, right? 😉
    And it is the widespread drug trafficking in the region that is believed to have enriched militant groups.
    Details about the operations are sketchy – large amounts of money are involved to ensure secrecy and loyalty.
    Drugs from South America are taken across Africa to Europe, where they are more profitable and marketable.
    A kilogramme of cocaine bought in Latin America for $3,000 (£1,990) can be sold in the capitals of West Africa for about $16,000; in North Africa it sells for $25,000 and can fetch about $45,000 in Europe.
    AQIM (about 450 hardened bosses in that cell) has its roots in groups in Algeria, Libya and Tunisia. One of its key affiliates is the well-disciplined Mujao group, which was active in Mali and claimed responsibility for last week’s Niger attacks.
    There is also believed to be a connection between AQIM and the growing piracy of the Gulf of Guinea – similar to the situation in Somalia where the al-Qaeda affiliated al-Shabab group has strong links with pirates operating in the Indian Ocean.
    In both cases the main objective is to expand the source of their funding and to enlarge their popular support through redistribution of the loot.
    Last summer also saw reports of a liaison between the Islamist militants in the Sahel, al-Shabab and a few other “informal units” operating in the porous borders area between Chad, Libya and Sudan.
    Al-Shabab militants were reported to have travelled overland to Mali disguised as Koranic students or merchants.
    Combatants presently fighting on far fronts, such as Syria, may well return – whether victorious or defeated – to boost the morale and numbers of the Saharan radical groups confronted by French troops.

    1. master09 Avatar
      master09

      Disguised as Koranic students. Now it’s all for the holy book rite.

  3. 5thDrawer Avatar
    5thDrawer

    Another ‘Law-Man’ who brings the facts. Better watch himself after this … especially if he visits Beirut.

  4. 5thDrawer Avatar
    5thDrawer

    Another ‘Law-Man’ who brings the facts. Better watch himself after this … especially if he visits Beirut.

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