An Argentinian prosecutor who accused the country's president of orchestrating a cover-up of the investigation into a notorious bomb attack on a Jewish community centre has been found dead – hours before he was to testify at a closed-door hearing.

Reports said that Alberto Nisman, 51, who had been examining the 1994 blast that left 85 people dead and over which Iranian officials have accused, was found dead in his apartment in Buenos Aires.

A small calibre handgun was found next to his body by security guards, alerted on Sunday afternoon by Mr Nisman’s mother who said he was not answering his phone or else the door of his 13th floor flat.

“Alberto Nisman was found dead on Sunday night in his flat on the 13th floor of the tower Le Parc, in the Buenos Aires district of Puerto Madero,” the Argentinian security ministry said in a statement. “Next to Nisman’s body, a .22-calibre handgun was found, together with a bullet casing.”

Reuters said that Mr Nisman claimed last week that President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner had conducted secret negotiations with Iran through non-diplomatic channels, offering to cover up the involvement of Iranian officials so Argentina could start swapping grain for much-needed oil from Iran.

Local media said he had due to take part in a closed-door hearing in parliament on Monday to explain his accusations against Ms Fernández.

Iran always denied the allegations. In 2013, Ms Fernández tried to form a “truth commission” with Iran to jointly investigate the attack.

She said at the time that the pact would reactivate the inquiry, but Israeli and Jewish groups said the move threatened to derail criminal prosecution of the case. The truth commission pact was later struck down by an Argentinian court.

The judge handling the case of the 1994 bombing criticised Mr Nisman late last week for taking it upon himself to “initiate an investigation without judicial control” and said his evidence was flawed.

Reports said Mr Nisman’s mother found the door to his flat locked from the inside and had to get a locksmith to open it. She found her son’s body on the floor of the bathroom, blocking the entrance, and called the police.

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“In the coming days we will determine the cause of death with an autopsy,” prosecutor Viviana Fein told journalists gathered at the scene in the early hours. “I ask for seriousness, I ask for prudence.”

Politician Patricia Bullrich told television channel TN that members of parliament would meet on Monday morning to discuss the situation. She said that Mr Nis,man had received threats since making his claims last week.

When Mr Nisman made his claim last week he published a 300-page report alleging that the president and Foreign Minister Hector Timerman had opened a secret back channel to Iranians suspected of involvement in the bombing of the community centre.

He said that the scheme was intended to clear the Iranian suspects in order to facilitate a trade deal between Iran and Argentina. The president’s spokesperson denied the claims.

Mr Nisman said he had issued a request that a judge question the president and the foreign minister “for being authors and accomplices of an aggravated cover-up”.

Israel's foreign ministry expressed deep sorrow over Mr Nisman's death, the Associated Press reported. "Nisman, a courageous, venerable jurist who fought intrepidly for justice, acted with determination to expose the identities of the terrorists and their dispatchers," the ministry said in a statement.

Belfast Telegraph