BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — An Argentine judge on Thursday ordered that the seven Iranians and three Lebanese citizens accused of involvement in the1994 bombing of a Jewish community centerin Buenos Aires face trial in absentia for the first time in the long-running case plagued by setbacks and controversy. For years Argentine courtshave ordered that the suspects — Iranian former officials and Lebanese nationals — be apprehended and brought before a judge because Argentina never allowed trials in absentia. Past efforts to encourage foreign governments to arrest the suspects, including aninfluential advisorto Iran's supreme leader, on the basis of Interpol red alertsnever gained traction. But right-wingPresident Javier Milei, aloyal ally of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahuand fierce critic of Iranwho studies the Torah with a rabbidespite being born Catholic, pushed a bill through Congress earlier this year that authorizes trials in absentia for fugitives that have long sought to evade justice — allowing Argentina to put the defendants on trial for the first time. On Thursday, Judge Daniel Rafecas approved the trial in absentia following a request from the special prosecutor's office responsible for investigating the 1994 attack, the deadliest in the South American country's history, which killed 85 people two years after a separate bombing of the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires killed 22 people. Rafecas described the trial as the only way to avoid impunity now more than 30 years after the bombing. "Trial in absentia, however limited, remains a tool that allows us, at the very least, to attempt to uncover the truth, reconstruct what happened, and, above all, give those representing the victims a place to express themselves publicly in this process," he wrote in his ruling. Last year, a high court in Argentinaruled that the Iranian government had mastermindedthe 1994 attack on the center, known by its acronym AMIA, and that members of Lebanon's Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah had carried it out. Iran has long denied any involvement in the attacks. Among the seven Iranians who are subject to Argentine arrest warrants are former Intelligence Minister Ali Fallahian, former commander of Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard Mohsen Rezaei and former Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati, who now advises Iran'sSupreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The three Lebanese citizens include Salman Raouf Salman, who allegedly coordinated the attack, and fellow Hezbollah members Abdallah Salman and Hussein Mounir Mouzannar. All have been declared in contempt of court, in some cases decades ago. Advancing the AMIA case has been a key goal of Milei, who concluded a trip to Jerusalem on June 12, the night beforeIsrael launched its unprecedented air campaigntargeting Iran's nuclear sites and military leadership. Milei escalated his rhetoric against Iran and in support of Israel during the 12-day war between the regional foes, calling the Islamic republic "an enemy of Argentina" and praising Israel as "saving Western civilization." ____ Follow AP's coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean athttps://apnews.com/hub/latin-america