La Derecha Diario Israel closes its embassy in Argentina and the rest of the world due to the escalation with Iran
The conflict with Tehran led to a diplomatic withdrawal and reinforced security in Buenos Aires
In the context of a growing military escalation in the Middle East, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs ordered the temporary closure of all its embassies worldwide, including the headquarters in Argentina, diplomatic sources confirmed this Friday. The measure, explained by the Israeli representation in Buenos Aires, doesn't respond to a particular situation with the South American country, but was taken as a generalized preventive action.
"The Israeli Foreign Ministry decided to close its embassies as a preventive measure. This is not due to a specific situation with Argentina, but to a global decision," indicated the diplomatic headquarters in a conversation with Infobae.
Ambassador Eyal Sela, currently in Israel after having accompanied President Javier Milei during his recent tour, referred in radio statements to the dimension of the Iranian threat: "We understand that there are fifteen nuclear bombs intended to completely destroy Israel. Iran was about to fulfill its annihilation program," he stated on Radio Mitre.
A nuclear threat at the center of the conflict
According to the ambassador, the Iranian regime has made alarming progress in its plan to develop weapons of mass destruction: "They are manufacturing 300 ballistic missiles per month," Sela emphasized. The figure, he said, exceeds the defense capacity of many sovereign nations. He also warned that Israeli authorities can't remain passive: "We decided to act to eliminate that threat."
According to Sela, Israel's attacks specifically target the dismantling of Iran's nuclear program. "Israel is not only defending itself, it is defending the West in general," he said, recalling that Iran has carried out terrorist attacks in different parts of the world, including Argentina.
Security reinforcement in key buildings in Buenos Aires
International tension also echoed in Argentine territory. Javier Milei's government ordered a security reinforcement in the country's Jewish institutions, including the AMIA headquarters, the Israeli embassy, the synagogue on Libertad Street, and the ORT schools, among others.
This measure was taken after the deaths of two high-ranking Iranian military commanders became known —Hossein Salami and Mohammad Bagheri— during Israeli airstrikes in Tehran. The most recent precedent for this type of provision occurred in April 2024, when an anti-terrorism contingency protocol was activated due to a similar escalation.
It is worth recalling that Argentine justice has determined that Iran was responsible for the terrorist attacks against the Israeli embassy in 1992 and the AMIA in 1994, both carried out by Hezbollah. In a recent ruling, the Federal Chamber of Criminal Cassation established that these attacks replied to a political strategy of the Iranian regime.
Operation Rising Lion and the new regional scenario
This Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the start of Operation Rising Lion, a military offensive "aimed at countering the Iranian threat to Israel's survival." The Israeli military spokesperson stated that "weapons of mass destruction in the hands of the Iranian regime represent an existential threat to the State of Israel and to the rest of the world."
In response, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, condemned the attack and warned that Israel has prepared "a bitter fate for itself, which it will undoubtedly receive."
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