MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina on alert over possible Iranian attack

Francos said that one can never rule out the possibility. Argentina has already suffered two attacks in the 1990s for siding with Israel

The Government of Argentina admitted Tuesday that it had received a security alert from Israel about a possible Iranian attack. Cabinet Chief Guillermo Francos said Israel expected “a very strong attack from Iran against targets that are friends.” Argentina has already suffered two anti-Jewish attacks in the 1990s.

“Measures were taken to protect Argentines and diplomats in Lebanon because it would be one of the targets of the attack, all as a result of a situation that escalated in October with the Hamas attack and which generated Israel's reactions,” Francos explained. “One can never rule out” the possibility of an attack in other territories outside the Middle East, Francos acknowledged.

“When we suffered the attack on the Israeli Embassy or the attack on the [Argentine Israeli Mutual Association] AMIA, no one could have assumed that we would be the target of attacks of that magnitude. I believe that the State intelligence services have to be attentive to any manifestation that appears in order to prevent,” said Francos in a TV interview.

However, Presidential Spokesman Manuel Adorni said there was no change in security because “Argentina had already taken all the precautions.” Adorni also pointed out that “there is no red alert or any other issue that merits commenting on security changes.”

“What Francos commented is simply the information received from Israel but there is nothing that has changed our position,” the spokesman noted.

President Javier Miei has consistently supported Israel. Argentina even voted against the United Nations (UN) regarding Palestine's full membership.

Buenos Aires was taking steps towards pulling its diplomatic staff from the embassy in Beirut, in addition to evacuating Argentine nationals from the Middle East conflict zone following Iran's threat against Israel.

“We are evaluating an operation plan to be able to evacuate Argentines from Beirut and Iran. We expect a major attack and a major response from Israel. There is already progress in the planning,” TN quoted an unnamed official as saying.

Foreign Minister Diana Mondino has already issued a statement recommending Argentines to evacuate the conflict zone and postpone travel: “Given the risk of a possible military escalation in the Middle East, it is suggested to the nationals who are in the Republic of Lebanon to be attentive to the evolution of the situation and to the communiqués published by the official accounts of the Argentine Foreign Ministry.”

Following the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Baqeri Kani said that his country would give “a decisive and harsh response to the Zionist regime for crossing the red line.”