Argentina and Israel on Friday honored the memory of the 29 victims of the 1992 terrorist car bomb attack at the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires, the first of two deadly attacks in the Argentinian capital.
The second in July 1994 against the headquarters of the Jewish community organization AMIA claimed 85 lives. The blast that destroyed the seven-story building, also injuring 300 people, was the most serious attack against Argentina's Jewish community, the biggest in Latin America with an estimated 300,000 members.
A ceremony was held in Buenos Aires at a concrete open space where once stood the embassy building. It was marked by calls for justice as the deadly attack remains unsolved and the perpetrators at large twenty years later.
Among the personalities who attended the ceremony were Argentine’s Vice President Amado Boudou, Justice Minister Julio Alak, Defence Minister Arturo Puricelli and representatives from the City of Buenos Aires attended the ceremony along with Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon and Minister without portfolio Yossi Peled.
Both Argentine and Israel are convinced that Iran-financed Hezbollah was responsible for the planning and execution of the attacks.
Vice-President Boudou said the bombing was ‘an attack against the 40 million Argentines’ and Justice minister Alak stated that the attacks to the Israel Embassy and the AMIA Jewish Community Centre “are a deep wound in the Republic” and highlighted that currently Argentina “is fully committed in the fight against international terrorism”.
Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon warned that a nuclear-armed Iran would have "ramifications throughout the world" and allow Tehran to "achieve hegemony in the Middle East. He vowed to "prevent Iran from acting" if it seeks to use a nuclear weapon.
"We will protect our citizens, our interests everywhere in the world and prevent Iran from acting."
He noted that those who are responsible for the embassy attack, as well as the AMIA bombing, remain uncaught, warning that they could be "plotting their next attack."
He identified Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi has one of the individuals responsible for the attacks two decades ago.
Ayalon brought up the recent bombings and terror plots in India, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Thailand, stressing that “Iran is the main responsible” for the attacks.
Daniel Carmon, Deputy Director General of the Israel’s foreign ministry, called Iran "a threat to the entire world," stressing that "this threat requires an immediate response."
Carmon was consul in Buenos Aires when the Israeli Embassy was destroyed on March 17, 1992. "Iran was directly responsible for what happened here," he said.