israel urges Uruguay to designate iran a state sponsor of terrorism, other latin american nations should do the same

By Jason Poblete

Most of the time, when Americans read or listen to a news report about Hezbollah or its main supporter, state sponsor of terror Iran, it relates to faraway matters. The stories are about issues very detached from our everyday lives. Fortunately, that is good for those of us in the United States.

Yet for decades, Middle East terror groups and supporters have made their home right here in the Western Hemisphere. For example, until the Trump administration, certain Iranian regime officials and their family members could come and go from the United States. That has changed and, frankly, all senior Iranian regime officials, and family members should be permanently barred entry to the United States as part of U.S. policy changes by the Trump administration announced in late 2018 to target the hemisphere's triangle of terror: Havana, Caracas, and Managua.
 
Iran also has diplomatic relations with Argentina, Belize, Cuba, Chile, Canada, Ecuador, Mexico, Uruguay, and others. Iran and Hezbollah are up to no good. Iran should've been tossed from the region a long time ago. Absolutely nothing good will come from close contacts, much less diplomatic relations, with state sponsor of terrorism Iran. Just ask Argentines whose loved ones were killed in several terrorist attacks in Buenos Aires in the 1990s. Yet, for some odd reason, Argentina maintains diplomatic relations with the regime.
 
About ten years ago, I wrote a short blog about a case that illustrates why the Iranian presence in Latin America must be taken a lot more seriously. Unfortunately, there are many cases such as the “Hezbollah and the Great Sony Playstation Caper,” a blog I wrote in 2010 that goes undetected. However, U.S. law enforcement has done an excellent job of uncovering these terror networks of the Americas.

If you're interested in learning even more about Iran or Hezbollah in Latin America, you can also read this op-ed by Dr. Yleem Poblete in the National Interest, "Iran's Tango with Latin America," where she writes:

---

Iranian-backed entities, such as The House of Latin America in Iran, continue to sprout throughout the region with the seemingly benign aim of “boosting relations between the Iranian people and those of Latin America.” However, their true objective appears to be promoting violence and repression and damaging U.S. interests.

You can read Yleem's post here. There is also a 2011 Congressional hearing transcript that is well worth a read, "Hezbollah in Latin America, Implications for U.S. Homeland Security."

Last month the government of Israel urged colleagues in Uruguay and others in the region to designate Hezbollah a terrorist organization. That is good. Even better is that all free nations in the Americas show Iran the door. America should also work with allies to remove Hezbollah and other terror-linked persons and entities from the region. Iran will be welcomed to the Western Hemisphere when Iran is free.