Iran declares Argentina's navy and air force terrorist organisations in reciprocal move

Iran's foreign ministry has issued an official statement declaring Argentina's Navy and Air Force "terrorist organisations". Relations between Iran, a Middle Eastern country, and Argentina, in South America, were already fragile, and the decision has strained them further.

Iran has made clear that the decision was not taken in anger. It said the move is a retaliatory step based on the "Principle of Reciprocity".

The dispute began a few months ago. In April, the Argentine government declared the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a powerful Iranian military unit, a terrorist organisation. Iran says Argentina acted under the policy that the administration of former US President Donald Trump framed against Iran, and under its pressure.

Angered by the ban on its military unit, Iran's foreign ministry took a hard line on Wednesday. Iran said, "Countries that impose sanctions on Iranian forces without any evidence will be answered in the same language. After the declaration of Argentina's military as terrorist, the Argentine government will bear full responsibility for all the serious consequences arising from this matter."

The hostility between Argentina and Iran is not new. It rests on a bloody history of nearly three decades. When it acted against the IRGC in April, Argentina said Iran gives direct financial and military help to Hezbollah, the armed group in Lebanon.

In 1994, a massive car bomb exploded at the AMIA Jewish community centre in Buenos Aires, the Argentine capital. The attack killed 85 innocent people and seriously injured more than 300. It is considered the deadliest terrorist attack in Argentina's history. According to the Argentine government, Hezbollah was the main architect of the attack and had Iran's full support. That is why Argentina has taken a tough stand against Iran.

The IRGC is no ordinary Iranian military unit. Formed after the 1979 Iranian revolution, it is chiefly responsible for protecting Iran's Shia Muslim clerical regime. It also wields heavy influence over Iran's economy, its missile programme and the country's internal security.

More than 35 countries have banned the unit. The United States, the 27 countries of the European Union, Israel, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Australia, Ecuador and Argentina have declared the IRGC a "terrorist organisation". Britain has not imposed a full official ban on the IRGC, but has placed strict restrictions on its members and keeps them under close watch under the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS).

Iran calls this campaign of bans by Western countries and their allies a flagrant violation of international law and sovereignty. As a means of self-defence and retaliation, it has begun answering these countries by passing laws in its parliament. Before Argentina, Iran had also officially declared the military forces of the United States, Canada and Britain terrorist organisations. According to international analysts, branding each other's official armed forces "terrorist" in this way closes diplomatic avenues and greatly raises the risk of a direct military clash or an economic war.