A recent Mossad report has revealed that the two terrorist attacks against Israeli and Jewish targets in Argentina in the 1990s were carried out by a secret Hezbollah cell, the New York Times reported on Friday.
According to Israel’s secret service, the Hezbollah unit’s operatives “were not abetted knowingly by Argentine citizens or aided by Iran on the ground” as had been previously thought.
The Mossad’s report, which findings were shared with The New York Times, detailed how the attacks were planned and how explosives’ material was smuggled into Argentina in shampoo bottles and chocolate boxes on commercial flights from several European countries.
Although the Mossad still believes that Iran, which backs Hezbollah, gave the green light for the attacks and facilitated them via training and providing equipment, the recent report contradicts the earlier belief by Tel Aviv, Buenos Aires and Washington that “Tehran had an operational role on the ground.”
“They also countered suspicions in Argentina that local officials and citizens there had been complicit,” the report said.
An attack in 1992 targeted the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires killing 29 people while another, carried out by a suicide bomber in 1994, targeted a Jewish community center killing 85 people.
According to the recent Mossad study, Hezbollah executed the attacks to avenge Israel’s operations against the party in Lebanon.
“The attackers were not brought to justice or killed in multiple assaults by Israel on Hezbollah over the years, and are living in Lebanon,” the report said, adding that Interpol had issued ‘red notices’ against two people accused of being attackers.
The Mossad report noted that both attackers are Hezbollah operatives, adding that a third one, Imad Mughniyeh who was killed in 2008, was the head of the cell that executed the bombings in Argentina.
Although the attacks raised suspicions that some Argentina officials may have been complicit, Mossad did not find any evidence to support these allegations.
“Only the operatives of the Hezbollah foreign operations unit took part in the attacks, without any involvement of local citizens,” the Mossad concluded.
Source » trackpersia