People hold images of the victims of the 1994 bombing attack on the Argentine Israeli Mutual Association (AMIA) community center, marking the 30th anniversary of the attack, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 18, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Irina Dambrauskas

An appeals court in Argentina has confirmed that 10 individuals accused of orchestrating the 1994 terrorist bombing of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) Jewish community center will face trial in absentia, a decision which demonstrates the continued pushback against the global reach of Iran’s terror network in the region.

The Buenos Aires City Federal Appeals Court on Tuesday upheld a ruling by Federal Judge Daniel Rafecas to move ahead with trial even without the accused, according to the Buenos Aires Times. Judges Martín Irurzun and Mariano Llorens ratified the order.

The July 18, 1994, attack killed 85 people and injured more than 300, leaving the AMIA building in ruins. Argentine and Israeli investigators long ago determined the bombing’s order originated at the top of the Iranian regime and that Hezbollah, its Lebanon-based chief terrorist proxy, received the directive. Tehran denies involvement.

Those indicted include such officials as former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who died on Jan. 8, 2017; former intelligence minister Ali Fallahijan; ex-foreign minister Ali Akbar Velayati; Mohsen Rezai, then commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps; and Ahmad Vahidi, the Quds Force chief at the time of the attack who also served as Iran’s interior minister from 2021-2024. Others under indictment include Ahmad Reza Asghari, a diplomat stationed in Buenos Aires, and Mohsen Rabbani, the cultural attaché at the Iranian embassy widely accused of masterminding the plot. Hezbollah operatives Salman Raouf Salman, Abdallah Salman, and Hussein Mounir Mouzannar were also indicted, as The Algemeiner reported on June 27.

In a statement earlier this year, Rafecas defended the decision, saying the trial in absentia was “essential to prevent the perpetuation of impunity.” Prosecutors have gone even further, requesting an arrest warrant for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The AMIA case has been challenged by perpetual cover-ups, corruption, and murder. Alberto Nisman, the special prosecutor who in 2006 charged Iran and Hezbollah with the bombing, later accused then-President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner of conspiring to bury the investigation in exchange for Iranian oil. Nisman was found dead in his apartment in 2015, the day before he was set to testify before Congress.

In 2024, an Argentine appeals court called the AMIA bombing a “crime against humanity” and formally declared Iran a “terrorist state.” The court also ruled that the 1992 truck bombing of the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires, which killed 29, was directed by Tehran.

The ruling this week comes when some analysts say Hezbollah’s global networks face increasing strain but still pose lethal threats. A March 2025 report by the RAND Corporation warned that Hezbollah’s activities in Latin America lack serious analysis even as they evolve, highlighting money laundering, arms and drug trafficking, and recruitment efforts across the hemisphere.

“Hezbollah maintains networks in Latin America that combine both fundraising operations and the targeting of Israeli state facilities, Jewish community institutions, and US interests,” wrote RAND analyst Marzia Giambertoni. “Although significant uncertainty exists regarding its existing operational capacity, a pattern of disrupted violent plots reveals that the group has a persistent intent to develop such capabilities in the region”

The RAND report characterized the 1992 and 1994 Buenos Aires bombings as deadly reminders of Hezbollah’s ability to strike far from Lebanon, noting how recent arrests in Brazil in November 2023 of suspects conspiring to hit Jewish targets showed continued danger.

“Despite its demonstrated capacity for violence, Hezbollah’s existing operational patterns suggest a continued focus on maintaining its fundraising and logistical networks rather than expanding its attack capabilities in Latin America. However, given the group’s historical willingness to conduct attacks in the region and its deep ties to Iran, this calculus could change rapidly in response to regional or global developments,” Giambertoni warned.

US officials have also focused efforts on Iran-backed terrorists in the region. In May, the State Department’s Rewards for Justice program renewed its offer of up to $10 million for information on Hezbollah’s financial networks in the Tri-Border Area of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay, describing the location as a hub for criminal financing, contraband, document fraud, and smuggling operations.

“Hezbollah is directly responsible for the murder of hundreds of Americans,” US Sen. John Curtis (R-UT) said in March when he and fellow Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) introduced the bipartisan “No Hezbollah in Our Hemisphere Act.” The legislation directs the State Department to push Latin American governments to designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organization and to ban visas for officials who support the terrorist organization. “For too long, this Iranian-backed terrorist group has used Latin America as a safe haven for illicit financing, recruitment, and other criminal activities — fueling drug trafficking at our southern border and posing significant threats to our national security,” Curtis said.

Rosen added, “Iran-backed Hezbollah is a terrorist organization that has operated in the Western Hemisphere for decades to raise funds for its destabilizing activities around the globe. This is a threat to US national security and cannot be tolerated.”

Analysts have described how Iran’s ties in Latin America extend beyond Hezbollah. An explainer by the Americas Society/Council of the Americas observed that the Iranian regime has cultivated ties with Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Bolivia as part of its “Axis of Resistance” approach.

“Iranians have worked hard to build connective tissue with the region,” said Brian Fonseca, the director of the Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy and an adjunct professor in the Department of Politics and International Relations at Florida International University. “But I’m not convinced these are deep ties. They are more transactional.”

For Argentine President Javier Milei, the AMIA case has become a driving cause.

Milei has vowed to pursue justice with vigor, declaring last year that “Iran is an enemy of Argentina.”