TRADE-ARGENTINA: Iraq to Replace Iran as Top Middle East Client

By Marcela Valente Reprint | | Print |

Marcela Valente

BUENOS AIRES, Jun 1 1998 (IPS) - Argentina, the only South American country to take part in the 1991 Gulf War, launched commercial negotiations in Iraq Monday in an effort to compensate the imminent loss of the Iranian market, its chief client in the Middle East.

The commercial mission is the first since the Gulf War, when Argentina broke off relations with Iraq after sending two warships to participate in the U.S.-led international military force which responded to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait.

Marcelo Avogadro, under-secretary of Economic Negotiations and International Commerce in Argentina’s Foreign Ministry, set out for Baghdad over the weekend, accompanied by representatives of five leading local food companies.

The delegation, to remain in Baghdad through Tuesday, will seek an alternative channel for Argentine exports, made necessary by the current diplomatic crisis between Argentina and Iran, which has led Tehran to suspend imports from Argentina.

Iran is Argentina’s top eighth client in the world and its main Middle Eastern trading partner. Last year it imported close to 700 million dollars worth of Argentine grains and other agricultural commodities.

But in the light of evidence pointing to an “Iranian connection” in the 1992 and 1994 bombings of the Israeli Embassy and the Argentine Israeli Mutual Association (AMIA), which claimed a total of more than 100 lives, Argentina reduced relations with Iran to a minimum, and could break off ties altogether in the near future.

Federal Judge Juan Jose Galeano could summon Iran’s former cultural attache in Buenos Aires, Moshen Rabbani, to testify in connection with the investigations into the bombings. Rabbani was invited to leave the country a few months ago. The government has announced that if the judge issues a warrant for his arrest, it will sever relations with Iran.

The judge has heard the testimony of Iranian nationals and a Brazilian witness and gathered evidence implicating Rabbani in planning the AMIA bombing.

The possible Iranian connection led the Argentine Foreign Ministry to withdraw its ambassador from Tehran. Iran had already recalled its representative in Buenos Aires three years ago.

A new break in the case led to a number of searches last month, and eight Iranian citizens in Argentina were cited to testify.

The offensive led the Iranian government to announce the suspension of its imports from Argentina, a move that did not initially cause great concern in Buenos Aires, because as Foreign Minister Guido Di Tella pointed out, the exports could reach their destination through a third country.

But it was reported last week that Iran had cancelled its orders for rice, grains, beef, soy and sunflower oils and flour and other agricultural commodities, which it planned to buy from Brazil instead.

Iran’s decision to change suppliers in the region, added to the new leads in the investigations of the bombings, could lead to a rupture of diplomatic relations with Tehran – “the next step,” according to Di Tella.

Political observers believe Iran’s alleged support for the bombings in Argentina could be linked to Buenos Aires’ decision to align itself with the United States this decade in suspending weapons sales to Tehran.

Press reports last week indicated that the Argentine government aimed to break off diplomatic ties with Iran before Jul. 18, the fourth anniversary of the AMIA bombing.