III 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 385 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 16, 2008 

Received and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Condemning the attack on the AMIA Jewish Community 

Center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in July 1994, and 

for other purposes. 

Whereas, on July 18, 1994, 85 people were killed and 300 

were wounded when the Argentine Jewish Mutual Association (AMIA) was bombed in Buenos Aires, Argentina; 

Whereas extensive evidence links the planning of the attacks 

to the Government of Iran, and the execution of the attacks to Hezbollah, which is based in Lebanon, supported 

by Syria, sponsored by Iran, and 


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designated by the Department of State as a Foreign Terrorist Organization; 

Whereas, on October 25, 2006, the State Prosecutor of Argentina, an office created by the Government of Argentina, concluded that the AMIA bombing was ‘‘decided 

and organized by the highest leaders of the former government of . . . Iran, whom, at the same time, entrusted 

its execution to the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah’’; 

Whereas, on October 25, 2006, the State Prosecutor of Argentina concluded that the AMIA bombing had been approved in advance by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali 

Khamene’i, Iran’s then-leader Ali Akbar Hashemi 

Rafsanjani, Iran’s then-Foreign Minister Ali Akbar 

Velayati, and Iran’s then-Minister of Security and Intelligence Ali Fallahijan; 

Whereas, on October 25, 2006, the State Prosecutor of Argentina stated that the Government of Iran uses ‘‘terrorism as a mechanism of its foreign policy’’ in support 

of ‘‘its final aim [which] is to export its radicalized vision 

of Islam and to eliminate the enemies of the regime’’; 

Whereas, on October 25, 2006, the State Prosecutor of Argentina identified Ibrahim Hussein Berro, a Lebanese 

citizen and member of Hezbollah, as the suicide bomber 

who primarily carried out the attack on the AMIA; 

Whereas, on November 9, 2006, Argentine Judge Rodolfo 

Canicoba Corral, pursuant to the request of the State 

Prosecutor of Argentina, issued an arrest warrant for Ali 

Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a former leader of Iran and 

the current chairman of Iran’s Assembly of Experts and 

of Iran’s Expediency Council, for his involvement in the 

AMIA bombing and urged the International Criminal PoVerDate Aug 31 2005 05:02 Jul 17, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HC385.RFS HC385

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lice Organization (INTERPOL) to issue an international 

arrest warrant for Rafsanjani and detain him; 

Whereas, on November 9, 2006, Argentine Judge Rodolfo 

Canicoba Corral, pursuant to the request of the State 

Prosecutor of Argentina, also issued arrest warrants for 

Ali Fallahijan, a former Iranian Minister of Security and 

Intelligence, Ali Akbar Velayati, a former Iranian Foreign Minister, Mohsen Rezai, a former commander of 

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), 

Ahmad Vahidi, a former commander of the elite Al-Quds 

Force of the IRGC, Hadi Soleimanpour, a former Iranian 

ambassador to Argentina, Mohsen Rabbani, a former cultural attache ́ at the Iranian Embassy in Buenos Aires, 

Ahmad Reza Asghari, a former official at the Iranian 

Embassy in Buenos Aires, and Imad Moughnieh, a leading operations chief of Hezbollah; 

Whereas, on March 5, 2007, the Executive Committee of 

INTERPOL unanimously supported the issuance of Red 

Notices for Hezbollah operative Imad Moughnieh and for 

Iranian officials Ali Fallahijan, Mohsen Rezai, Ahmad 

Vahidi, Mohsen Rabbani, and Ahmad Reza Asgari, thereby allowing arrest warrants for those individuals to be 

circulated worldwide with an eye to their arrest and extradition; 

Whereas, on November 7, 2007, the General Assembly of 

INTERPOL upheld the Executive Committee’s decision 

to support the issuance of six Red Notices in connection 

to the AMIA case; 

Whereas, on February 12, 2008, Hezbollah operative Imad 

Moughnieh reportedly was killed in Syria; 


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Whereas in June of 2008, the Government of Saudi Arabia 

hosted an international Muslim conference that was reportedly attended by Iranian officials Ali Akbar Hashemi 

Rafsanjani, against whom an Argentine arrest warrant 

has been issued, and Mohsen Rezai, against whom both 

an Argentine arrest warrant and INTERPOL Red Notice 

have been issued; 

Whereas the Government of Saudi Arabia reportedly made no 

attempt to detain or arrest Ali Akbar Hashemi 

Rafsanjani or Mohsen Rezai during their time in Saudi 

Arabia, and the two departed Saudi Arabia without incident; 

Whereas, on May 22, 2008, Argentine prosecutor Alberto 

Nisman filed a request with Argentine judge Ariel Lijo 

for the arrest of Carlos Saul Menem, who was president 

of Argentina at the time of the AMIA bombing, and four 

other former Argentine high officials in connection with 

the AMIA case; 

Whereas Mr. Nisman claimed in his request for an arrest 

warrant that Menem and the other four officials had attempted to cover up the involvement of a Syrian-Argentine businessman, Alberto Jacinto Kanoore Edul, in the 

AMIA bombing; 

Whereas Argentine investigators have stated that prior to the 

AMIA bombing, Mr. Kanoore Edul was in contact with 

at least two men who have been identified as suspects in 

the AMIA case; 

Whereas Mr. Nisman stated in an article published on May 

29, 2008, that his request for arrest warrants against 

Argentine nationals in the AMIA case ‘‘does absolutely 

not change the accusations against Hezbollah and Iran 


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. . . To a certain degree, it reinforces them, because 

[suspect Alberto Jacinto] Kanoore Edul has many links 

with Islamist extremists’’; 

Whereas during the last two years, the Government of Argentina has made significant advances in the AMIA investigation and other counter-terrorism efforts including the 

enactment, in July 2007, of counter-terrorism legislation 

which seeks to criminalize financing, fund-raising, and 

money laundering activities of groups linked to terrorism; 

Whereas the issuance of an Argentine arrest warrant for an 

attache ́ of the Iranian Embassy in Argentina in connection with the AMIA case, indicates that Iran has used its 

embassies abroad as tools and extensions of radical 

Islamist goals and attacks; 

Whereas in recent years, Iran has greatly expanded its diplomatic, political, and economic presence in the Western 

Hemisphere, including the opening of nearly a dozen embassies in Latin America; and 

Whereas according to news reports published in June 2008, 

intelligence agencies in the United States and Canada 

have warned of significant evidence that Hezbollah, with 

the support of the Government of Iran, plans to launch 

a major attack against ‘‘Jewish targets’’ outside the Middle East, and that possible targeted areas include Canada 

and Latin America: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 

2 concurring), That Congress— 

3 (1) reiterates its strongest condemnation of the 

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1 nos Aires, Argentina, honors the victims of this at2 tack, and expresses its sympathy to the relatives of 

3 the victims; 

4 (2) applauds the Government of Argentina for 

5 increasing the pace of the AMIA bombing investiga6 tion and for enacting counter-terrorism legislation; 

7 (3) urges the Government of Argentina to con8 tinue to dedicate and provide the resources nec9 essary for its judicial system and intelligence agen10 cies to investigate all areas of the AMIA case and 

11 to prosecute those responsible; 

12 (4) commends the General Assembly of the 

13 International Criminal Police Organization 

14 (INTERPOL) for upholding and issuing the Red 

15 Notices supported by the Executive Committee of 

16 INTERPOL in March 2007; 

17 (5) expresses grave concern regarding the Gov18 ernment of Saudi Arabia’s failure, when given the 

19 opportunity, to detain Iranian officials against whom 

20 Argentine arrest warrants or INTERPOL Red No21 tices are pending in connection with the AMIA case; 

22 (6) urges all nations to cooperate fully with the 

23 AMIA investigation, including by making informa24 tion, witnesses, and suspects available for review and 

25 questioning by the appropriate Argentine authoriVerDate Aug 31 2005 05:02 Jul 17, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HC385.RFS HC385

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1 ties, and by detaining and extraditing to Argentina, 

2 if given the opportunity, any persons against whom 

3 Argentine arrest warrants or INTERPOL Red No4 tices are pending in connection with the AMIA case, 

5 including Iranian officials and former officials, 

6 Hezbollah operatives, and Islamist militants; 

7 (7) encourages the President to direct United 

8 States law enforcement agencies to provide support 

9 and cooperation to the Government of Argentina, if 

10 requested, for the purposes of deepening and ex11 panding the investigation into the AMIA bombing; 

12 and 

13 (8) urges governments in the Western Hemi14 sphere, who have not done so already, to draft, 

15 adopt, and implement legislation designating 

16 Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, banning fund17 raising and recruitment activities, and applying the 

18 harshest penalties on those providing support for ac19 tivities involving Hezbollah and other such Islamist 

20 terrorist organizations. 

Passed the House of Representatives July 15, 2008. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 

By ROBERT F. REEVES, 

Deputy Clerk. 


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