Iran suspends ties with Argentina after diplomat's arrest

Iran is suspending economic and cultural ties with Argentina following the arrest of a former Iranian diplomat in Britain over his alleged role in a 1994 bombing in Buenos Aires, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported on Saturday.

Iran's Foreign Ministry summoned Argentine charge d'affaires Ernesto Alvarez to inform him of the decision. It also summoned Britain's charge d'affaires, Matthew Gould, to protest the arrest of Hade Soleimanpour in Britain on Thursday on an extradition warrant originating in Argentina.

Soleimanpour was ambassador to Argentina in 1994, when a car bomb exploded at a Jewish community center, killing 85 people and wounding some 200. Argentine intelligence implicated Iran in the attack but Iran has repeatedly denied involvement.

Both countries recalled their ambassadors after the bombing, but diplomatic relations were not interrupted.

British police said the arrest warrant alleges that "on or before" July 18, 1994, Soleimanpour conspired with others to murder persons at the Jewish community center.

Soleimanpour, 47, now a student in Britain, appeared in court on Friday and was ordered held without bail until his next appearance, on Friday.

Mehdi Mohtashami, director-general of American affairs at Iran's Foreign Ministry, told Alvarez of Iran's "strong protest at the move by Argentina's judicial officials" and warned that Argentina "would be accountable for all the legal and political impacts of the rulings on bilateral relations," according to IRNA.

Mohtashami said the Argentine government showed "indifference toward Tehran's readiness for judicial cooperation with it in connection with the case" and lacked "good will" for cooperation, IRNA said.

Alvarez said he would immediately inform his government of Iran's strong protest, IRNA reported.

Argentine federal judge Juan Jose Galeano had asked for the arrest of Soleimanpour and 11 other Iranians, including four diplomats, in connection with the probe. It was not immediately clear in what countries the other suspects live.

Gould, the British diplomat, was told by Ibrahim Rahimpour, director-general of the Western European desk, that the court case "was a politically motivated move orchestrated by the Zionist circles," IRNA reported, quoting the Information and Press Bureau of the Foreign Ministry.

Rahimpour said Britain and Iran should cooperate to resolve the issue and clear the charges against Soleimanpour.

According to IRNA, Gould said he would convey the message to his country and ask that the case be pursued without bias.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said in a statement on Friday that the arrest warrant lacked a judicial basis and that his government would confer with British officials.