AMIA president Guillermo Borger, however, said he was not surprised by the appointment.

'This is a regime that does not hand over to be judged the suspects of having taken part in the terrorist attack,' Borger said.

He complained that the Iranian government 'protects them and appoints them for public positions, although never until now in such a relevant position'.

The Argentine Delegation of Israelite Associations (DAIA) also expressed its 'repudiation and condemnation over the designation of Ahmad Vahidi as Iran's defence minister'.

'The decision adopted by the Iranian president, who systematically denied the Holocaust and calls for the destruction of the state of Israel, constitutes an undescribable insult to the victims of the massacre and their families, to the Argentine Jewish community and to the Republic of Argentina and its justice system,' the DAIA said in a statement.

Argentina is home to the largest Jewish community in Latin America.