Senator Menendez urges transparency in investigation into Nisman’s death

Sen. Bob Menendez, the ranking Democratic member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is calling for a full investigation into the death of Argentinian prosecutor Alberto Nisman.

Menendez is calling on that the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires press the Argentinian government to provide answers regarding ‘the increasingly suspicious conditions surrounding Mr. Nisman death.’

Senator Robert Menendez said in a statement: “I was shocked to learn about the tragic circumstances surrounding the death of Mr. Nisman, who worked tirelessly in pursuit of justice for the 85 victims of the devastating 1994 terrorist attack against Argentina's Jewish community.”

“President Fernández de Kirchner's announcement that Mr. Nisman's death was not a suicide raises troubling new questions. His investigation – which promised to shed light on new evidence about Iran’s role in the bombing – must continue and his findings must be made public to ensure that those responsible are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

“The increasingly suspicious conditions surrounding Mr. Nisman’s death, just hours before he was scheduled to testify before the Argentine Congress, demand a thorough and transparent investigation. I urge the State Department and the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires to take all possible steps to support an open and credible investigation.”

Mr. Menedez statement followed statements by Senator Marco Rubio and Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.

US Senator Marco Rubio also said of Dr Nisman's death: "The news out of Argentina regarding Dr Nisman’s death is very concerning on many levels. Given his long-standing work investigating Iran’s role in the 1994 terrorist bombing of a Buenos Aires Jewish center and his latest report accusing Argentina’s president of attempting to clear Iranians of these charges, one cannot help but suspect foul play.”

"I also urge the Fernandez government to resist any efforts to whitewash Iran’s true role in the 1994 bombing. America’s ambassador, Noah Mamet, should offer any law enforcement cooperation necessary to ensure such an investigation, and he should convey US support for Argentine authorities to continue Dr Nisman’s investigation."

Republican Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen offered her 'sincere condolences' to the family and friends of Dr Nisman.

She said in a statement: "The people of Argentina has lost a great defender of the rule of law and a fighter against corruption and terrorism. Alberto Nisman and my office were in frequent contact discussing the AMIA case and the threat that Iran and Hezbollah agents are to hemispheric security.

The Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) has also called for an independent international investigation into Dr Nisman's 'suspicious death' after he insisted he had 'irrefutable proof' that killers from Tehran carried out the 1994 attack.

It later emerged in the investigation that current Iranian regime president, Hassan Rouhani, had been on the special Iranian government committee that plotted the bombing.