Ilan Sztulman: "Hezbollah may launch another attack in Argentina because it has infrastructure and capabilities"

"Iran continues to pose a threat to Western societies, which is why we are attentive even here in Argentina." The warning of the ambbadador of Israel in Argentina Ilan Sztulman This is not without foundation. The warning is based on a strong presence of the terrorist group Hezbollah in the region. Therefore, the Israeli diplomat also stressed that "the Macri government is an issue that concerns him because he is doing what he can with a strong commitment in the fight against terrorism".

To get straight to the point: Ambbadador Sztulman said that Hezbollah is a group that can carry out another attack in Argentina. He has the capacity and the infrastructure to do it. Especially with the logistic support of Venezuela. "

One month after the 27th anniversary of the terrorist attack on Israel's embbady, ​​Sztulman exposed three mixed feelings about the lack of justice: "I have frustration, anger and sadness"He said in dialogue with Infobae. This feeling of helplessness that also feels the Jewish community against the attack of the AMIA, the Israeli ambbadador, clearly illustrated by saying that "after 27 years, the perpetrators of these attacks continue in Iran as if nothing had happened and it is terrible ".

Sztulman does not want to interfere with the next election campaign in Argentina. However, he throws two undeniable signs of Jerusalem. Towards Kirchnerism will say that "Cristina Kirchner's government was not the most fruitful period of Argentina's relations with Israel". And in the face of macrismo, it will be argued that, although bilateral relations have improved a lot and that they now represent "eight or nine points", believes that to reach Argentina, Argentina should provide greater support to Israel at the UN and in various international forums.

-Do you think that if Cristina Kirchner wins the next elections, relations between Israel and Argentina will deteriorate?

-Israel in an election campaign did not interfere. We must work for the government that goes beyond the colors. We work between countries and to improve relations between peoples. I do not think the imprint of our work changes a lot.

-But you have improved relations with Macri's arrival. Now, there are better links than when Cristina Kirchner was …

-I can tell you that Cristina Kirchner's government has not been the most fruitful period of Argentina's relations with Israel. But I think it will depend on the order of the day it will bring if it finally wins the election. We do not build relationships with people but with countries. If Cristina Kirchner changes her stance towards Iran or the attacks and we see how Argentina behaves in international diplomacy, it could be better. But we have nothing against Cristina Kirchner or Peronism.

– Are there sectors of Peronism related to Iran?

-I do not believe. It was the policy of the government to reach an agreement with Iran and partly lacked support in investigating Nisman's complaint. All this has bothered us a lot. But we have good relations with many Peronists. For example, I have very good relations with the Governor Juan Manzur de Tucumán, Minister of Cristina Kirchner. For us, it's not a question of Cristina or Peronism. The question is what will be the foreign policy of a possible government of Cristina Kirchner. If I have to base my opinion on history, I am very pessimistic.

– Do you think that Macri recomposed his relations with Israel?

Not only with Israel. The first year, a big list of world leaders arrived here, our Prime Minister Netanyahu arrived and all this was due to Macri's policy change. It has to do with all the interests that exist. We will see If Macri continues, we will be happy because it will be a continuation of what has been done so far. But if another government came forward, we would find the best way to work together.

-Do you still observe a strong presence of Iran in Latin America?

– Yes, there is a strong presence of Iran and the Hezbollah group. And that worries us a lot. Iran continues to be a threat to Western societies, so we are paying attention even here in Argentina. But in this area, we must recognize the Macri government, because it is also concerned about this problem and doing what it can with a firm commitment in the fight against terrorism. For example, freezing the accounts of groups related to Hezbollah, as was the case of the Barackat group in the Triple Frontier. We work in cooperation with the FIU, the Ministry of Security …

– What could be done to prevent a terrorist attack?

– First of all, we must emphasize that we do a lot. Last week, we participated in an exercise with the Argentine security forces in the context of a simulated bomb case at the embbady. The performance of the Argentine security forces was impeccable. We also held dialogue meetings with Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil to collaborate in the fight against terrorism. The FIU also works a lot with us. There are some limitations that are financial. The Argentine government does not have funds for all the projects that it wants to do and that is understandable at the moment. But there is a commitment to collaborate. There is a strong commitment to working together, which goes beyond declarations against terrorism and translates into concrete action. Hezbollah is a group that can launch another attack in Argentina. He has the capacity and the infrastructure to do it. Especially with the logistic support of Venezuela. But we are all working together to make sure that does not happen.

– Does Macri's position against Venezuela mean that there is more risk of attack here?

-No, it's the opposite. I think that the pressure exerted by the president makes professionals work and strengthens the control over terrorism. But we already see in the world that no one is safe from attack. Solitary wolves act without structures and can also produce attacks. To do this, we need to work on intelligence to determine whether there are groups with infrastructure, networks, and for that we need to be able to control the flow of funds. If there is a follow up of these groups as it is the case here, the possibility of an attack decreases a lot. So, if these groups see that there are more controls here, the possibility that these groups want to get started is much less important.

-So today is less the possibility of an attack …

– Yes, but it is enough that there is a lone wolf to get there. If the police and intelligence services work here as before, the opportunity to enter structured groups is reduced. The policy pursued by the government today reduces the risks of attack. Today, it is more difficult to produce an attack in Argentina than it was 25 years ago.

– A new anniversary of the attack on the Israeli Embbady in March will be celebrated. What is the first thing that concerns you about the lack of justice?

Frustration, anger, sadness. It's been 27 years and the perpetrators of these acts are still in Iran, as if nothing had happened. One of them has a pension and another works at a university in Tehran. It's sad. There is no justice clearly. I do not blame the Argentine nation for the attack. But the fact that there is still no justice is very frustrating. If I compare the persecution of Israel to those responsible for the crimes of the Holocaust and the action of the State of Israel for the sake of justice, I see a great greatness and a big difference. There were bold actions like the case of Adolf Eichmann but we did justice. Today, the perpetrators of the attack against the embbady or the AMIA enjoy total impunity in Iran. The Interpol authorities know that these people have been involved and have red alerts about them.

-Macri will soon visit Israel for an official visit?

-What we hope. There was a tentative date but it could not. We hope you will travel this year. I do not know if he can do it in an election year. But the president of Israel, Reuven Rivlin, will visit here. This is planned for this year, but we do not know in what month it will be.

– What would be the score attributed to the relationship between Argentina and Israel from 1 to 10?

-It is fine, I think I would give between 9 and 8 points. She is very good.

-What is missing to reach 10 points?

-For us, it would be necessary for Argentina to vote at the United Nations and in other instances in favor of Israel. Argentina in general voted against Israel. At the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, for example, they voted against Israel. And we do not see any vote there to vote against Syria where there are thousands of refugees and where chemical weapons are being used by Syria. Article 7 of the United Nations Human Rights Commission speaks of a mission to investigate Israel's crimes. This is how it is written and Argentina has never spoken against it. With this government, there was a positive change that began to abstain during many votes against Israel at the UN. But we still do not see, for example, that Argentina votes in favor of Israel. For example, we do not see that Argentina recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, we do not ask to change embbady. But we hope that they recognize Jerusalem as capital. This means that he can not give a vote of 10 to bilateral relations.

-Do you see that China's progress in the region is a risk?

-We have good relations with China. We do not consider China's performance as undemocratic in general. We do not have any tension with China.

– Do you think it would be important that there be more pressure against Maduro's diet?

-I think that if Maduro leaves power, Iran will cease to have a logistics base in the region. We claim a human rights problem that is not resolved in Venezuela today. The humanitarian situation is very difficult there and we think that Israel has a duty to help it.