
Ecuadorean president Rafael Correa triggered a serious controversy in Argentina when he defended close links with Iran and downplayed Teheran’s alleged role in the 1994 attack on the AMIA Jewish institution in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people and left hundreds injured.

Argentine Foreign Minister Héctor Timerman confirmed this weekend that there had been new meetings with envoys of the Iranian government over the probe handling the AMIA bombing, and assured that Argentina will present a new action plan in the coming few weeks, most probably in the next meeting scheduled for January.

Foreign Minister Héctor Timerman announced at Government House in Buenos Aires that new negotiations between diplomatic representatives of Argentina and Iran over the investigation into the 1994 AMIA terrorist attack, will take place before the end of November.

The president of the Argentine Jewish Community centre, AMIA, Guillermo Borger said that if Iran insists in rejecting any links with the 1994 attack in which 85 people were killed and 300 injured, the current dialogue between Argentina and Teheran on the issue “is over”.

Iran’s government rejected once more the involvement of any Iranian citizen in the 1994 AMIA Jewish Centre terrorist bombing, but indicated to be ready to help into identifying those who could have committed the attack.

Iran is likely to import over 100.000 tons of soy-oil from Argentina in October-December 2012 as Iran's purchasing of soy beans, soy-oil and soy-meal is recovering from the impact of sanctions, Hamburg-based oilseeds analysts Oil World said on Tuesday.

Iran made major imports of Argentine soy-oil and soybeans between July and September as Iranian buyers found methods of making payments in the face of western sanctions, Hamburg-based oilseeds analysts Oil World said on Tuesday.

Venezuelan opposition leader Henrique Capriles pledged to help Colombia in its peace talks with rebels and distance himself from Iran should he defeat President Hugo Chávez in an increasingly tight race ahead of Sunday's election.

Argentine Foreign Minister Héctor Timerman met with his Iranian counterpart Ali Akbar Salehi at the United Nations headquarters in New York, and announced that they decided to continue negotiations through government officials from both ministries in Geneva next month.

President Cristina Fernández announced that Argentina and Iran will meet to discuss the two bombings of Jewish targets in the 1990's, attacks in which Iran was accused by Argentine courts of playing a role.