Martina Jaureguy President Javier Milei and members of his government have doubled down on their support for Israel after its crossfire with Iran. An intervention by the United States on Saturday saw an escalation in the conflict, after they bombed Tehran and other Iranian locations on Saturday.
After the U.S. bombing, Milei sent a swarm of reposts on X, sharing messages backing President Donald Trump and Israel and saying that Argentina is now “on the right side of history.” On Thursday, during an interview, he had said that “Iran is an enemy of Argentina” and that “Israel is saving Western culture.”
“For the first time, Argentina is on the right side. And most importantly: on the winning side,” wrote Agustín Romo, head of the La Libertad Avanza bloc in the Buenos Aires province Lower House, in a post shared by Milei.
The message is a reflection of the 180° spin Argentina has taken regarding international relations since the start of Milei’s government. Argentina has historically been a neutral country, not engaging in worldwide conflicts and ensuring not to take any sides to avoid retaliation and damaging its relations with the conflicting countries.
However, since Milei’s election in 2023, that has changed. One of his campaign promises was that he would align with Israel and the U.S. — and he has complied. Within the United Nations, Argentina has backed Israel in its war in Gaza, including a rejection against the latest UN resolution calling for a ceasefire.
Milei has traveled to Israel and the U.S. several times and met President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu, whom he both described as great friends. He recently visited Tel Aviv, right before Israel bombed nuclear facilities, military compounds and residential areas in Iran.
The president also shared a post made by Defense Minister Luis Petri on Sunday, who said that Argentina was “on justice’s side.”
“Guaranteeing peace in the world is fighting, always and above all, against terrorism and its nuclear weapons,” Petri wrote. “Tomorrow, the world will awake more free and in peace! We were victims of Iran’s terror and we paid it with the blood of innocents,” he added, thanking Milei.
“Terrorism, never again,” said Presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni in another post.
Argentina has a tense history with Iran. The deadly bombings of the AMIA Jewish community center and the Israeli embassy in the 1990s have been attributed to the Iranian militant group Hezbollah and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps respectively.
In this context, Argentine diplomat Rafael Grossi, chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has been directly threatened by the Iranian government. “Once the war is over, we will deal with him,” said about Grossi Ali Larijani, a top advisor to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a social media post. Larijani’s comment comes after Tehran’s questioning of the IAEA’s reports on the Iranian nuclear program.
‘Iran is an enemy of Argentina’
On Thursday, Milei insisted in an interview with LN+ news channel that he is “an ally of Israel” and that Iran “does not accept Israel’s existence.”
“Iran is a theocracy that wants to exterminate the only free democracy in the Middle East,” Milei said. “It’s very difficult to negotiate with someone who wants to exterminate you.”
Referring to the terrorist attacks against the AMIA and the Israeli embassy, Milei said that Iran “is an enemy of Argentina” and that he values Israel’s “honor” because it “attacks military objectives, while the rival is not only developing nuclear arms to eliminate Israel, but also attacking civil targets.”
“Israel already saved us from Iraq in 1981; it saved us from Syria in 2007; and now, it’s doing it again. Israel is saving Western culture.”
The president said that Israel “is not only being attacked” by Iran and terrorist organizations, but also “by the left” who “demonizes” the country because “Judeo-Christian culture is the base of capitalism.”
On Saturday, the Israeli embassy in Argentina thanked Milei for his words. “Your stern support of the Israeli people during these hard times honors the profound friendship between our nation,” said an X post by the embassy. “Recognizing Israel’s right to defend itself from Iran’s threats is also defending the fight for a world free of terrorism.”
