The decision to put Kirchner on trial dates back to the accusation made in 2015 by the late Alberto Nisman, the prosecutor charged with investigating Iran’s alleged role in the AMIA bombing. Nisman claimed that Kirchner had set up a “parallel communication channel” with Iran in order to avoid incriminating senior Iranian government officials and members of Hezbollah in the bombing.
Nisman was found shot to death in his apartment in January 2015, the day before he was scheduled to present his allegations to the Argentine Congress. His shooting has been ruled a homicide after initially being called a suicide.
The election run, if confirmed, would make Kirchner the first and most high-profile challenger to Macri, who is expected to run for a second term but whose leadership has faced heavy criticism after rampant inflation last year and a falling economy hit voters hard.
A spokesman for Kirchner's party did not directly confirm that she would be a candidate when asked by Reuters, but said any government from her faction would look to bolster the purchasing power of workers to support the domestic market.
"She will be (a candidate) because she does not have any other option," said one source, a strategy advisor to Kirchner, asking not to be named because the run was not yet public.
A second source close to the former president also said she would run and that she was the best candidate to lead the country.
Kirchner was indicted last year on charges that her administration accepted bribes from construction companies in exchange for public works contracts.
Kirchner has denied the charges and said she never received any illicit money. As a senator, she has immunity from arrest, but not from prosecution.