III 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 277 

Remembering the 25th Anniversary of the bombing of the Argentine Israelite 

Mutual Association (AMIA) Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires, 

Argentina, and recommitting to efforts to uphold justice for the 85 

victims of the attack. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 17, 2019 

Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. CRUZ, Mr. KAINE, 

Mr. YOUNG, Mr. BURR, Mr. COTTON, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, and Mr. 

COONS) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Relations 

SEPTEMBER 26, 2019 

Reported by Mr. RISCH, without amendment 

OCTOBER 29, 2019 

Considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Remembering the 25th Anniversary of the bombing of the 

Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) Jewish 

Community Center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and recommitting to efforts to uphold justice for the 85 victims 

of the attack. 

Whereas, on July 18, 1994, a car bomb detonated at the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) Jewish 

Community Center building in Buenos Aires, killing 85 


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people and wounding more than 300 others, rendering it 

the deadliest terrorist attack in Argentina’s history; 

Whereas Argentina is home to the largest Jewish community 

in Latin America—and the sixth largest in the world, 

outside Israel; 

Whereas, for 25 years, the investigation into the bombing has 

been stymied by international inaction, political interference, investigative misconduct, and allegations of 

cover-ups, including the removal of the federal judge in 

charge of the case in 2005 for ‘‘serious’’ irregularities in 

his handling of the case; 

Whereas, in November 2005, a joint investigation by the Argentine Secretariat of Intelligence (SIDE) and the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) concluded that the 

attack against AMIA was a suicide bombing carried out 

by Ibrahim Hussein Berro, a 21-year-old operative of 

Hezbollah, which is based in Lebanon and sponsored by 

the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran; 

Whereas, in October 2006, Argentine prosecutors Alberto 

Nisman and Marcelo Martı ́n Burgos formally accused the 

Government of Iran of directing Hezbollah to carry out 

the AMIA bombing; 

Whereas the Argentine prosecutors charged the following Iranian nationals as suspects in the AMIA bombing: 

(1) Ali Fallahijan, Iran’s former intelligence minister; 

(2) Mohsen Rabbani, Iran’s former cultural attache ́

in Buenos Aires; 

(3) Ahmad Reza Asghari, a former Iranian diplomat 

posted to Argentina; 

(4) Ahmad Vahidi, Iran’s former defense minister; 


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(5) Ali Akbar Velayati, Iran’s former foreign minister; 

(6) Mohsen Rezaee, former chief commander of the 

Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps; 

(7) Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, former President 

of Iran; and 

(8) Hadi Soleimanpour, former Iranian ambassador 

to Argentina; 

Whereas, in November 2007, the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) published Red Notices 

on 5 of the Iranian nationals and Hezbollah operative 

Ibrahim Hussein Berro; 

Whereas, in January 2013, the Administration of then-President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Iran to set up a ‘‘truth 

commission’’ to investigate who was responsible for the 

AMIA bombing, despite Iran and its proxies’ status as 

the only suspects in the attack; 

Whereas, in January 2013, Argentina’s then-Minister of Foreign Relations, Hector Timerman, and his Iranian counterpart, Ali Akbar Salehi, sent a joint notice to 

INTERPOL that led the general secretariat to issue a 

‘‘caveat’’ that in effect relaxed implementation of the Red 

Notices; 

Whereas, in May 2013, Argentine prosecutor Alberto Nisman 

published a 500-page report accusing the Government of 

Iran of establishing terrorist networks throughout Latin 

America, including in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile, Colombia, Guyana, Suriname, and Trinidad 

and Tobago, dating back to the 1980s; 


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Whereas, in January 2015, Mr. Nisman released the results 

of an investigation alleging that then-President 

Fernandez de Kirchner and then-Foreign Minister 

Timerman conspired to cover up Iranian involvement in 

the 1994 AMIA bombing and that they had agreed to negotiate immunity for Iranian suspects and secure the removal of the INTERPOL Red Notices; 

Whereas Mr. Nisman’s investigation had uncovered evidence, 

including wire-taps of phone calls ‘‘between people close 

to Mrs. Kirchner’’ and a number of Iranians such as 

Iran’s then-Cultural Attache ́ Mohsen Rabbani, of a secret 

2013 deal between the Governments of Argentina and 

Iran to normalize relations and trade Iranian oil for Argentine grain; 

Whereas Mr. Nisman was scheduled to present his findings 

to a commission of the Argentine National Congress on 

January 19, 2015, but on January 18, 2015, was found 

dead as the result of a gunshot wound to his head in his 

apartment in Buenos Aires; 

Whereas officials in the Administration of then-President 

Fernandez de Kirchner sought to discredit Mr. Nisman 

after his suspicious death, and in May 2015, an Argentine federal court dismissed Mr. Nisman’s findings 

against Ms. Fernandez de Kirchner and other officials; 

Whereas, in March 2015, an independent investigation 

launched by Mr. Nisman’s family released its own report 

by forensic experts and forensic pathologists showing that 

his death was not an accident or suicide, and that his 

body had been moved after he was shot; 

Whereas, in September 2017, forensic investigators of the Argentine National Gendarmerie submitted a new report to 


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a federal court concluding that Mr. Nisman did not commit suicide, but that he was drugged, beaten, and fatally 

shot in the head on January 18, 2015; 

Whereas, in November 2017, Argentine media revealed that 

Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had 

sent a letter to the Argentine foreign minister, Jorge 

Faurie, confirming that included in the 2013 oil-for-grain 

deal were efforts to have INTERPOL terminate the Red 

Notices for the Iranian nationals; 

Whereas, in March 2018, Argentine authorities indicted 

former President Fernandez de Kirchner on charges that 

she helped cover up Iran’s role in the 1994 AMIA bombing; 

Whereas no one yet has been brought to justice for the death 

of Argentine prosecutor Alberto Nisman, nor have any of 

the named Iranian suspects faced prosecution for their 

role in the 1994 AMIA bombing; 

Whereas the suspects continue to travel globally with impunity, as demonstrated by the refusal of Russian and Chinese officials in July 2018 to comply with an Argentine 

federal judge’s request that they arrest and extradite 

former Iranian foreign minister Ali Akbar Velayati on the 

grounds he ordered the bombing, and previous attempts 

by Argentina to arrest Velayati in Singapore and Malaysia in 2016 that were also unsuccessful; 

Whereas, in September 2018, Argentine Vice President 

Gabriela Michetti repeated the pleas of previous Argentine officials seeking help from the international community to bring the Iranian suspects to justice; 

Whereas, in March 2019, the former Argentine judge removed for misconduct in the early days of the AMIA 


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bombing investigation, Juan Jose Galeano, was sentenced 

to 6 years in prison and former Argentine Intelligence 

(SIDE) chief Hugo Anzorreguy was sentenced to 41⁄2

years for their roles in a cover-up of Iran’s complicity; 

and 

Whereas, in the days leading up to July 18, 2019, 25 years 

after the AMIA bombing, the Government of Argentina 

indicated it would list Hezbollah as a terrorist entity: 

Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) reiterates its strongest condemnation of the 

3 1994 attack on the Argentine Israelite Mutual Asso4 ciation (AMIA) Jewish Community Center in Bue5 nos Aires, Argentina; 

6 (2) honors the victims of the 1994 AMIA bomb7 ing and expresses its sympathy to the relatives of 

8 the victims, who are still waiting for justice; 

9 (3) expresses serious concern about Iran’s influ10 ence networks in the Western Hemisphere and urges 

11 the President of the United States to continue to 

12 monitor Iran’s activities in the region as mandated 

13 by the Countering Iran in the Western Hemisphere 

14 Act of 2012 (Public Law 112–220); 

15 (4) recognizes the work of Argentine Prosecutor 

16 Alberto Nisman and his dedication to investigating 

17 the AMIA bombing and expresses serious concern 

18 regarding attempts by former President Cristina 


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1 Fernandez de Kirchner and her government to dis2 credit Mr. Nisman‘s findings on the AMIA bombing; 

3 (5) commends Argentine President Mauricio 

4 Macri’s continued call for a swift, transparent, and 

5 independent investigation into Mr. Nisman’s death, 

6 recognizes the Argentine National Gendarmerie’s ex7 tensive work to produce credible, evidence-based 

8 findings, and urges an independent inquiry into Mr. 

9 Nisman’s findings on the 2013 oil-for-grain deal be10 tween Argentina and Iran; 

11 (6) underscores the concern of the United 

12 States regarding the continuing, 25-year-long delay 

13 in resolving the bombing case and urges the Presi14 dent of the United States to offer technical assist15 ance to the Government of Argentina to support the 

16 ongoing investigation and determine responsibility 

17 for the death of Argentine prosecutor Alberto 

18 Nisman; 

19 (7) commends the Government of Argentina for 

20 formally recognizing Hezbollah’s role in the AMIA 

21 bombing and taking steps to hold the organization 

22 accountable for the attack; and 

23 (8) commemorates the 25th anniversary of the 

24 AMIA bombing by recommitting to hold accountable 


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1 those who planned and executed the 1994 AMIA 

2 bombing until justice is served. 

Æ 


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