ABSTRACT
Between 1946 and 1955, Argentine President Juan D. Perón devoted increasing attention to the Middle East as part of his prolonged plan to reach an accommodation with the United States, while retaining as much of Argentina’s independence as postwar conditions allowed. After World War II, the Arab world balked at the partition of Palestine; open warfare ensued as Arab leaders sought to abort the partition scheme. The deterioration of the situation on the ground impelled the US to discontinue the licensing of military exports to the region early in December 1947, a move that was seen at the time as a reduction of the US commitment to partition. Since winning independence in 1946, Transjordan had sought diplomatic relations with Argentina; early Argentine statements about extending its policy of rapprochement with the Arab world to all Arab League members would have encouraged the Hashimite Kingdom to expect nothing less.
