In her address to the General Assembly of the United Nations yesterday, President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner performed the annual ritual of asking Iran to extradite to Argentina a number of its citizens wanted in connection with the 1994 AMIA massacre in Buenos Aires. She did the same last year and her predecessor Néstor Kirchner did likewise in 2007.

The framework for the performance of the ritual is now well established. In the days leading up to the speech there’s speculation in the press about exactly what form of words will be used to appeal for the extradition of the wanted men. Will it be harder or softer than last year? What do the official representatives of the Jewish community in Argentina want? Then the big day comes. The president speaks. The press analyze what was said in terms of the abovementioned criteria. The spokespersons for the Jewish community declare themselves entirely pleased. Maybe next year they’ll give their reaction in terms of points for technical difficulty and artistic impression, like in figure skating. “Bravo, Madam President! That was a perfectly executed cringing plea combined with some not-so-subtle playing to the ´anti-imperialist´ gallery.”  The world moves on. Nothing happens. It has become a complete farce.

Argentina has been begging Iran for cooperation for long enough. It should immediately break diplomatic relations with the ayatollahs and seek what legal remedies may be available to it for their continued protection of suspects in the single worst terrorist attack in the country’s history. It should also campaign for tougher sanctions against the Islamic republic and use its vote on international bodies against Iranian interests wherever that’s possible. Failure to do this sends the clear message that the price tag on the lives of Argentine Jews is an annual - mild -  verbal reproach.