Foreign Ministry worried about Iran- S.America ties

By Barak Ravid

The Foreign Ministry is concerned about Iran's activities in South America including a high number of embassy officials who could be taking part in terror, according to an evaluation by the ministry.

Last week marked 13 years since the attack on the Jewish community building in Buenos Aires in which 85 people were killed. A few months ago an Argentine judge determined that Iran and Hezbollah were responsible for the attack and asked Interpol to issue international arrest warrants for seven senior Iranian officials and Imad Mughniyeh, head of the Islamic Jihad unit at Hezbollah and responsible for its activities abroad.



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Interpol is expected to make a final decision in November and issue warrants.

The defense establishment has for years seen the border areas between Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil as a focus of Iranian and Hezbollah terror. Iran, meanwhile, has opened embassies in Nicaragua, Ecuador and Chile, and increased commercial ties and visits by senior officials. Iran has also enlarged its missions in Venezuela, Uruguay, Mexico and Colombia.

The Foreign Ministry says these embassies have an "astronomical number" of diplomats, in no proportion to their needs. In Nicaragua, for example, there are 30 Iranian diplomats, with a similar number in Venezuela and other countries. Israel fears that these are intelligence operatives also involved in terror.

Jerusalem is also concerned at the emerging alliance between Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Over the past two years, Chavez has been in Tehran six times and Ahmadinejad has visited Caracas twice. A direct flight between Tehran and Caracas, which refuels in Damascus, has carried thousands of Iranians.

The Foreign Ministry notes that according to international media reports, Venezuela intends to sell uranium to Iran to advance Iran's nuclear program, and that Venezuela is forging shipping documents for equipment involving Iran's nuclear program.

Venezuela also intends to help ease Iran's energy crunch by selling it oil distillates. Because of Iranian concerns that its assets abroad might be frozen, Tehran is transferring some of its accounts to Venezuelan banks. Iran is to supply weapons to Venezuela and support Chavez's arms program.

Israel has told some Latin American countries that Iran is endangering world peace through terror and its nuclear program. Some of the countries share Israel's concerns and have asked for intelligence and counter-terror assistance.

Other countries have reacted coolly due to their commercial connections with Iran and their need for cash. A senior government official in Jerusalem said "no matter what sanctions the U.N. Security Council imposes, it's not certain that the countries in that continent will not break them because of closer ties with Tehran."

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/884493.html