Iran has designated Argentina’s navy and air force as “terrorist organisations”, its foreign ministry said on Wednesday, in what it called a reciprocal response to Buenos Aires blacklisting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) earlier this year.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry said the designation was “based on the principle of reciprocity” and on a 2019 Iranian law that allows action against countries that designate Iran’s armed forces as terrorist organisations. The statement did not mention Argentina’s army.
Argentina’s foreign ministry swiftly rejected the move. In a statement, it said it “categorically rejects” the designation, calling it an “entirely unfounded” accusation against legitimate institutions and “completely baseless and unacceptable”.
The Iranian ministry added, without going into detail, that it was clear the responsibility for all consequences arising from the matter would fall on the Argentine government.
The row has its roots in Argentina’s decision this spring to add the IRGC to its register of terrorist groups, citing the Guard’s support for Hezbollah. Argentina blames Hezbollah, and accuses Iran of involvement, in the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish community centre in Buenos Aires, the deadliest attack in the country’s history, which killed 85 people and injured hundreds.
The designation of the IRGC also followed pressure from US President Donald Trump’s administration on allies to blacklist the Guard after the United States and Israel launched their war on Iran on 28 February. President Javier Milei has placed his government firmly behind Washington and Israel, unlike many Latin American leaders.
It is not Iran’s first such move. In early November, Tehran also declared the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force of the United Kingdom as terrorist organisations, while labelling the UK’s foreign intelligence service, MI6, as a “hostile group”.
The dispute comes as tensions in the wider region remain high. Iran’s security chief, Mohsen Rezaei, has warned that military bases “from West Asia to Europe” that would take part in attacks against Iran will be legitimate targets for retaliation if the United States launches another war against Iran.
Meanwhile, Iran’s lead negotiator, parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, has told Al Jazeera that the ball is in the United States’ court and that a deal is possible, after Tehran communicated its terms for restarting talks.
The row also comes as Argentina presses its claim to the Falkland Islands, where it has asked an international tribunal to halt British-backed oil drilling — a reminder that Buenos Aires is fighting diplomatic battles on more than one front.
For now, the tit-for-tat designations are largely symbolic, since neither side’s armed forces operate in the other’s territory. But they underline how far the confrontation between Tehran and Washington’s allies has spread, from the Gulf to South America.
