Argentina’s Foreign Affairs Ministry announced Saturday that it has expelled Iran’s top diplomat.
In a message posted on social media, Argentina’s Foreign Affairs Minister Pablo Quirno confirmed that Iran’s Charge D’Affaires, Mohsen Soltani Tehrani, had left the country “in compliance" with a resolution issued Thursday that gave the Iranian diplomat 48 hours to leave the South American country.
Tensions between the two nations intensified earlier this week after Argentina declared Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) a terrorist organization.
The measure will enable the Argentine government to impose financial sanctions on those conducting business with that branch of Iran’s armed forces and to seize any assets it may own in Argentina.
Iran’s Foreign Affairs Ministry replied to the terrorism designation with a statement which said Argentina’s actions amounted to an “unforgivable offence" influenced by the United States.
Argentina had previously proscribed the Quds Force of the IRGC, along with 13 individuals linked to its overseas operations, as a terrorist group.