Iran has designated Argentina's navy and air force as “terrorist organizations”, its Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday, November 11, in a reciprocal move after Buenos Aires designated Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist entity earlier this year.

Source: Reuters

Iran's Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that Tehran considers the Argentine air force and navy terrorist organizations “based on the principle of reciprocity”, Reuters reported from Dubai.

Clash Report, citing Iran's Mehr News agency, quoted the ministry's wording directly: “Islamic Republic of Iran deems the Argentine Navy and the Argentine Air Force subject to the aforementioned law and its provisions, and designates them as terrorist organizations.” The ministry added that “the responsibility for all consequences resulting from this issue is borne by the government of Argentina”, without elaborating.

Source: Clash Report / Mehr News

The Iranian statement did not name Argentina's army — only the navy and the air force were designated, a detail Reuters also noted in confirming the statement.

Why Argentina moved first

Argentina had designated the IRGC as a terrorist organization following a push from US President Donald Trump's administration for allies to do so, Reuters reported. Argentina said its measure was due to the IRGC's backing for Lebanon-based Hezbollah.

Iran said its decision also rested on a 2019 law adopted after the United States designated the IRGC a terrorist organization, Clash Report reported — the same reciprocity law Tehran has used before when other countries moved against the Guards.

What happens next

The designation is a diplomatic and legal label, not a military step: there was no report on Wednesday of any Argentine response, any change to Argentine deployments, or any direct contact between the two governments over the move. Reuters' report carried no immediate reaction from Buenos Aires.

The exchange still matters because it widens the Iran-US confrontation into Latin America at a moment when the war that began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28 continues to shape diplomacy far beyond the Middle East — and when Washington is pressing allies to adopt its designations of Iranian bodies.

For Argentina, the tit-for-tat puts its navy and air force on an Iranian terrorist list in name; whether Tehran attaches any practical measures — travel, finance or legal steps — to the label is the next thing to watch.