Argentina requests arrest of Iranian minister over 1994 Jewish center bombing

Argentina announced on Tuesday that it has requested Interpol to arrest Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi on charges of his involvement in the bombing that targeted a Jewish center in Buenos Aires in 1994.

The ministry said that Vahidi is currently part of an Iranian delegation visiting Pakistan and Sri Lanka, and Interpol has issued a red notice against him at Argentina's request.

It added that Argentina has also requested Pakistan and Sri Lanka to arrest the Iranian minister and hand him over.

On April 12, an Argentine court held the Islamic Republic responsible for two bloody attacks targeting the Jewish community in the country three decades ago.

In 1992, an attack on the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires left 29 dead. Two years later, the "Israeli-Argentine Mutual Association" (AMIA) center in the capital was bombed by a truck loaded with explosives, resulting in the deaths of 85 people and injuring 300 others.

More than three decades after these attacks, the Second Chamber of the Criminal Cassation Court held Iran responsible, declaring it a "state sponsor of terrorism".

The court also accused the Lebanese Shia Hezbollah party, backed by Tehran, and described the attack on the AMIA center - the deadliest in Argentina's history - as a "crime against humanity".

On Tuesday, the Argentine Foreign Ministry said in a statement that "Argentina seeks the international arrest of those responsible for the 1994 AMIA center attack that killed 85 people, who are still in their positions without facing any punishment".

It added that one of these wanted individuals "is Ahmad Vahidi, wanted by Argentine justice as one of those responsible for the attack on the AMIA center".

The statement continued, "This person currently holds the position of Minister of the Interior in the Islamic Republic of Iran and is part of a government delegation currently visiting Pakistan and Sri Lanka."

The statement noted that "Argentina has requested Pakistan and Sri Lanka to arrest him following the mechanisms provided by Interpol."

AFP