ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Iran on Wednesday sanctioned Argentina’s navy and air force in retaliation for Buenos Aires’ designation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), describing the action as hostile less than two weeks after Tehran imposed similar retaliatory sanctions on British security institutions.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry decried Argentina’s decision as a “hostile” act against an official branch of Iran’s armed forces and said Tehran was responding under the principle of reciprocity.
“Responsibility for all consequences arising from this action will rest with the Argentine government,” the ministry said in a statement carried by the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news agency.
The move follows similar Iranian measures against Britain’s armed forces earlier this month. Tehran has cited reciprocity to justify designations against foreign military institutions in response to restrictions on the IRGC, an official branch of Iran’s armed forces.
The move also comes as Tehran is emboldened by the staggering losses of US President Donald Trump’s Republican party at the ballots in the midterm elections, labelling it a vindication of the country’s response to the war with the US and Israel.
Trump has signalled he is more likely to reach a lasting deal with Iran to end hostilities that began late February but has said US forces were ready to strike Iran if there is no progress from ongoing negotiations brokered by Qattar and Pakistan. The move also comes against the backdrop of French accusations that Tehran was behind cyberattacks targeting the former’s supermarkets, resulting in millions of damages in Euros.
The announcement adds to a longstanding dispute between the two countries over accusations of Iranian involvement in bombings targeting the Israeli embassy and a Jewish community center in the Argentinian capital in the 1990s. A bombing at the Israeli embassy in March 1992 killed 29 people and injured more than 200. In July 1994, another bombing destroyed the headquarters of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association, commonly known by its Spanish initials, AMIA. That attack killed 85 people and wounded more than 300.
Argentine authorities have accused senior Iranian officials and members of Hezbollah, the Lebanese armed group backed by Tehran, of involvement in the attacks. Iran rejects those accusations. The bombing investigations have remained a major obstacle in relations between the two countries.
Argentina designated the IRGC at the end of March, citing the organization’s alleged role in those attacks. The office of President Javier Milei said the decision allowed authorities to impose financial sanctions and restrictions on IRGC operations.
In Wednesday’s statement, Iran’s foreign ministry cited legislation passed in 2019 following Washington’s designation of the Guards as a “terrorist organization.” According to the ministry, the law provides for reciprocal measures against countries that follow or support the US decision.
Tehran said Argentina’s navy and air force were subject to that law. The statement did not explain what practical restrictions would follow or how the designation would be enforced.
Argentina had designated IRGC’s overseas branch, the Quds Force, in January, along with 13 associated individuals. Buenos Aires said those measures were intended to limit the group’s activities and prevent the Argentine financial system from being used to support them. The March announcement extended the designation to the entire IRGC.
Iran sanctioned Britain’s Royal Navy and Royal Air Force, designating them terrorist organizations, while classifying its foreign intelligence service MI6 as a hostile organization in the beginning of November.
