Mohsen Rabbani

Iranian Shia cleric sent to Buenos Aires in 1983 on a tourist visa, officially as a commercial representative for Iran's meat export industry. He became involved with the newly founded At-Tauhid Mosque in Floresta, Buenos Aires, teaching religion and eventually leading the mosque, before being named cultural attaché at the Iranian embassy in 1993. Over his 14-year posting, he became the pivotal figure linking Iran's religious, cultural, and diplomatic activities in Latin America, building a network of converts and institutions across the region; he mentored Sheikh Abdul Karim Paz, who succeeded him as imam of At-Tauhid in 1993.

Argentine federal prosecutor Alberto Nisman identified Rabbani as the mastermind and coordinator of the 1994 AMIA bombing in Buenos Aires, which killed 85 people, as well as a key figure in the earlier 1992 bombing of the Israeli embassy in the city. Rabbani has denied involvement. Argentina issued an international arrest warrant, and INTERPOL issued a Red Notice for him in March 2007 — renewed as recently as 2022 through at least 2027 — forcing him to retreat to Iran in 1997, where he remains a fugitive from Argentine justice.

Since returning to Iran, Rabbani has served as Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's personal representative to Latin America and as a professor and international affairs advisor at Al-Mustafa International University in Qom. He heads Islam Oriente, the university's department for Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking students, which he also founded as a cultural institute to strengthen ties between Iran and Latin America and train Spanish-speaking converts and clergy.