Iran labels Argentina's navy and air force 'terrorist organizations' in retaliation for Milei's IRGC designation

Iran labels Argentina's navy and air force 'terrorist organizations' in retaliation for Milei's IRGC designation.

Iran's Foreign Ministry said Wednesday that it now considers Argentina's navy and air force "terrorist organizations," a tit-for-tat move against the government of President Javier Milei, which designated Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist group in March, Al Jazeera and Reuters reported.

The Iranian statement cited "the principle of reciprocity" and warned that responsibility for "all consequences" would lie with Argentina's government, according to Al Jazeera. It did not mention the Argentine army.

Argentina's foreign ministry said it "categorically rejects" the designation, calling it "completely baseless" and an unacceptable accusation.

Relations between the two countries have been strained for decades. Argentina blames Iran-backed Hezbollah for the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, which killed 85 people. When Milei's office blacklisted the IRGC on March 31, it said the decision aimed to settle a "historical debt" of more than 30 years with the victims' families.

The dispute plays out against the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, which began on Feb. 28. While many Latin American leaders have avoided taking sides, Milei has aligned his government firmly with Washington and Israel, Al Jazeera noted.