Argentina expels Iran's top diplomat after designating Revolutionary Guard as terrorist
Iran's charge d'affaires declared persona non grata with 48 hours to leave, following Argentina's classification of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization.
12:39 PM
Argentina declared Mohsen Soltani Tehrani, Iran's charge d'affaires in Buenos Aires, persona non grata Thursday and ordered him to leave the country within 48 hours, the Foreign Ministry announced.
The expulsion follows Argentina's decision Tuesday to designate Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization. Iran's government responded with a statement condemning what it called an "illegal and unfounded action" by the Argentine government, prompting the diplomatic rupture.
Soltani Tehrani, who has served as Iran's top diplomatic representative since 2021, responded to the expulsion in an interview Friday. "Expelling the only diplomat does not favor Argentina, but worsens things even more," he said. He criticized the manner in which he was informed of the decision, noting that a low-level Foreign Ministry official delivered the news.
The charge d'affaires rejected the Argentine government's characterization that Iran had insulted Argentine authorities and questioned sovereign decisions. He pointed instead to Argentina's alignment with the United States and Israel regarding the Middle East conflict, stating that joining what he described as an illegal war did not constitute a sovereign decision.
The U.S. State Department's Bureau of Counterterrorism publicly endorsed Argentina's designation of the Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization. In a statement posted to social media, the bureau said the United States "welcomes" Argentina's announcement and "applauds" the actions of President Javier Milei's administration to counter global terrorism.
The diplomatic tension between Argentina and Iran has escalated as Milei has strengthened alignment with the United States and Israel amid the ongoing Middle East conflict. The expulsion represents a significant step in the deterioration of bilateral relations, effectively bringing diplomatic ties to a near-complete rupture.
Soltani Tehrani noted that the Milei government had denied agrément—standard diplomatic approval—to Iran's previous charge d'affaires when it took office, leaving him as the only Iranian diplomatic representative in the country at the time of his expulsion.