Hours after cutting short an international tour and returning to Argentina, President Javier Milei held a cabinet meeting Sunday night to assess Iran’s missile and drone strike on Israel. The Israeli ambassador to Argentina, Eyal Sela, joined the meeting and later thanked the government for condemning the attack and “being on the right side of history.”

Milei had been in the United States, where he had traveled with Presidency Secretary Karina Milei, who is his sister. He was scheduled to continue his trip to Denmark, where he was to sign an agreement for the purchase of 24 US-made F16 fighter jets. However, he interrupted the trip after the attack “to contact various western presidents to coordinate actions and take charge of the situation,” a press release said.

During the cabinet meeting Sela described Israel’s current situation and personally thanked Milei for supporting the country, according to an official press release.

Ministers including Patricia Bullrich (security), Guillermo Francos (interior), and Mariano Cúneo Libarona (justice), as well as Vice President Victoria Villarruel, political advisor Santiago Caputo, Chief of Staff Nicolás Posse and Karina Milei, attended the meeting. 

“President Milei decided to cut short his trip to the U.S. and Denmark and return to Argentina due to Iran’s attacks on Israel,” said presidential spokesperson Manuel Adorni in a press conference on Sunday at around 10 p.m., while the meeting was still taking place.

“Argentina emphatically supports Israel in the defense of its sovereignty,” he added. Adorni was joined by Sela, who gave details about the attack.

Milei’s decision to create a crisis committee and instantly take a stance in the conflict was at odds with Argentina’s foreign policy traditions. The country typically takes a neutral stance in international conflicts.

After news of the Iranian strike broke on Saturday, Buenos Aires Mayor Jorge Macri launched a terrorism contingency plan in the city, aiming to prevent potential attacks. 

Iran, Israel and Argentina

Escalating violence between Iran and Israel is a sensitive matter for Argentina. The AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires was destroyed by a bomb on July 18, 1994, killing 85 people and injuring over 300. It was the deadliest terrorist attack in the Western Hemisphere until the September 11 attack. Argentina has blamed Iran and the militant group Hezbollah for the attack. 

Two years earlier, the Israel Embassy in Buenos Aires also suffered a bombing attack that killed 22 people. 

The government condemned Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps attack on Israel shortly after it happened, saying Argentina has adopted a new foreign policy based on the “defense of Western values” such as “life, freedom, and private property.”