MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Bolivia tells Iranian Defence minister to leave and apologizes to Argentina

Defence Minister Ahmad Vahídi, accused by Argentina of masterminding the bloody Bs.Aires AMIA terrorist attack in 1994

The Bolivian Government asked Iranian Defence Minister Ahmad Vahídi, accused by Argentina of masterminding the Buenos Aires AMIA terrorist attack in 1994, to leave the country after an Argentine attorney asked Interpol to arrest him, Foreign Minister Héctor Timerman said.

Through his Twitter account, Timerman who is currently with President Cristina Fernandez in Rome, also posted a letter sent by his Bolivian counterpart, in which he apologized for the diplomatic incident.

“You should know that the Bolivian Government has already taken the necessary measures to make sure that Mr. Ahmad Vahídi immediately leaves Bolivian territory, proving that Bolivia does not wish to interfere in any way with any existing procedures regarding his legal situation” minister David Choquehuanca assured.

The Argentine Foreign Minister had previously expressed the government’s disappointment to his Bolivian counterpart.

“Due to this regrettable incident, I would like to express on behalf of my country how much we appreciate the Argentine government’s cooperation in order to leave this situation behind. Even though it represents a grave diplomatic incident, it only came to pass because his attendance was unknown to some of us, and in no way we intended to hinder the excellent Argentine-Bolivian relations,” Choquehuanca’s letter read.

”Unfortunately (the Bolivian Defence Ministry) did not know about the background of the case“, nor did the Foreign Affairs ministry coordinate the invitation with the rest of Bolivia's government, said the letter.

Vahídi’s visit to Bolivia had generated a strong reaction by the Argentine-Jewish community, who had expressed their concern through the AMIA and DAIA organizations. According to news agencies, Vahídi left Iran on Tuesday.

Guillermo Borges, the AMIA's current president, called Vahidi's visit to Bolivia ”a provocation.”

The Iranian official, whose attendance was not previously announced by the Bolivian Foreign Ministry or the Ministry of Defence, took part in the anniversary celebrations of the Military Aviation School in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, addressing the press afterwards.

Interpol issued an arrest warrant for Vahídi and five other Iranians and a Lebanese citizen in 2007 after a local court accused them of being involved in a terrorist attack against the Jewish community that left 85 people dead and over 300 injured in Buenos Aires in 1994.

Vahidi enjoys diplomatic immunity, which complicates efforts to bring him to trial although in 2007 Interpol notified law enforcement bodies in other countries of an Argentine arrest warrant against him.

Iran’s state news agency IRNA said Vahidi had visited Mauritania and held talks with the African state's president before travelling to Bolivia invited by his counterpart Maria Cecilia Chacón.

Bolivia and Iran established full diplomatic relations in 2007 and President Evo Morales and his Iranian peer Mahmud Ahmadinejad have celebrated several reciprocal visits. Following the establishment of links Iran offered a credit line of 1.2 billion US dollars to Bolivia that covered different fields: agriculture, industry, health, hydrocarbons, communication and lately defence, including aircraft.