President of Argentina Javier Milei was not present in Israel by the time the country shut down its airspace prior to launching strikes against Iran’s nuclear and missile infrastructure on Thursday evening, several sources confirmed.
“He [Milei] is no longer in Israel,” presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni responded to Argentine journalist Diego Papic in a Twitter post on Thursday in Argentina, at a time when Milei’s whereabouts were publicly unknown.
President Milei visited Israel this week from Tuesday to Thursday, marking his second official visit to the Middle Eastern nation as a head of state. The three-day trip was part of a broader international tour and preceded by official visits to Italy, the Vatican, Spain, and France.
Milei departed Israel for another quick trip to Spain, where he received the “School of Salamanca” award from the local libertarian think tank Club de los Viernes (“The Friday Club”).
After delivering a lengthy speech on Friday detailing the work his administration has carried out to dramatically improve Argentina’s economy, Milei, without directly mentioning the strikes, said Israel has the problem of “having neighbors who want to kill you” and stressed that, while Israel accepts that other countries exist, “Iran does not accept that Israel exists.”
On Friday morning Argentina time, Milei published a photo of himself and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on his Instagram account, reportedly taken on Thursday when he went to pray with Netanyahu at the Western Wall in Jerusalem right before leaving Israel.
According to the Argentine newspaper La Nación, Milei departed Tel Aviv and arrived at a military airport in Madrid shortly before Israel launched “Operation Rising Lion” against Iran.
Local outlets reported that Security Minister Patricia Bullrich ordered reinforcements at home around the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires and the building of the Argentine-Israeli Mutual Association (AMIA) — two locations Iran and its proxy terror group Hezbollah targeted with deadly terrorist attacks in the 1990s. The 1994 AMIA bombing, which left 85 dead and hundreds injured, was the deadliest terrorist attack in the Western Hemisphere prior to the September 11, 2001, attacks.
Bullrich also reportedly had security reinforced around other Argentine Jewish community locations such as schools, clubs, and religious temples. Unnamed senior sources told the newspaper Clarín that, while they did not want to generate local concern, they are in coordination with Israeli and U.S. intelligence due to Argentina’s status as an ally of both nations, which makes it a “potential target.”
Hours before leaving Israel on Thursday, Milei signed a memorandum of understanding with Netanyahu on the “Defense of Liberty and Democracy Against Terrorism and Anti-Semitism.”
The Argentine presidency explained that the agreement represents a “key step” in the consolidation of strategic ties between the two countries and lays the groundwork for intensive collaboration in defense and security matters. Additionally, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced during the signing ceremony that both countries have finalized the required administrative procedures to establish a direct Buenos Aires – Tel Aviv flight route.
“Argentina and Israel are beacons of light in a world darkened by darkness. We have to be united in this struggle,” Milei said during the signing ceremony.
Argentine Ambassador to Israel Axel Wahnish reportedly said that the recently signed agreement, which have reportedly been dubbed the “Isaac Agreements,” involve “unprecedented cooperation against terrorism, cybercrime investigations, and the establishment of fast-track customs lanes,” among other goals such as joint satellite launches and water technology centers on the Paraná River, which runs through Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina.
Wahnish further asserted that both Paraguay and Ecuador had expressed interest in joining the agreement. According to the ambassador, the two countries could potentially sign the agreements in December at an upcoming “World Conference for Freedom” that will be hosted in Buenos Aires in that month — suggesting that President Donald Trump could serve as “honorary witness” of the event if it is possible.
Immediately upon taking office in December 2023, Milei oversaw a dramatic “realignment” of Argentina’s foreign policy with the United States and Israel as its main allies, undoing nearly two decades’ worth of policies implemented by past socialist administrations that pushed the South American nation toward Iran and other rogue regimes such as Cuba, Venezuela, China, and Russia.
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
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