Argentina is on the hunt for Iranian Interior Minister, Ahmad Vahidi, and has called on Interpol to assist. This situation arose following a court decree in Argentina, which blamed Iran for the brutal 1994 bombing at a Jewish community centre in Buenos Aires. This merciless attack claimed the lives of 85 individuals.
Earlier in the week, Vahidi was sighted in Pakistan alongside an Iranian delegation. Having moved on to Sri Lanka, Argentina urged both countries to nab the elusive minister. It’s crucial to note that Interpol’s ‘red notice’, which was issued by Argentina’s request, is not an arrest warrant per se. Rather, it’s a global alert for a wanted fugitive, awaiting member countries to act.
It’s an interesting twist as part of the Iranian delegation, which landed in Sri Lanka before Wednesday, is Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi. However, some reports claim that Vahidi was nowhere to be seen upon their arrival in Sri Lanka, and he was reportedly back in Iran by Tuesday.
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Vahidi is on Argentina’s radar as one of the parties responsible for the horrific assault on the Israeli-Argentine Mutual Association cultural centre, also known as ‘Amia’. He has previously been suspected as the mastermind behind the bombing given his role in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ overseas operations at the time. The Amia bombing, the deadliest in Argentina’s history, resulted in 300 injuries and 85 deaths.
Even though Iran has always denied being part of this heinous act, Argentina’s Court of Cassation, the country’s highest criminal court, ruled that Iran planned the attack and Hezbollah, backed by Iran, executed it. The court labelled the attack a ‘crime against humanity’. Unsurprisingly, the Iranian Foreign Ministry dismissed the court’s ruling as ‘baseless claims’ for political objectives.
Argentina, home to the largest Jewish community in Latin America, has previously been a target of bombings. Another even involved a suicide bomber driving a lorry packed with explosives into the Israeli embassy, killing 29 people. As with the Amia bombing, Argentina has pointed the finger at Iran and Hezbollah.