Small But Important Steps on Iran, Hezbollah and Argentina
By Douglas Farah
Interpol, the international police organization, has finally taken the necessary step of issuing red notices, the equivalent of international arrest warrants, against five senior Iranian and one senior Hezbollah official for the 1994 bombing of the Jewish community center in Buenos Aires. It was one of the worst acts of Islamist terrorism in the Western hemisphere.
Interpol has mediated a long dispute between Argentine and Iranian officials over the releasing of the red notices since Argentina requested them last year.
In the end, Interpol agreed to request the arrest of several senior Iranian intelligence officials-including the former commander of the Quds Force, the former minister of intelligence and security, the former commander of the Guardians of the Revolution and two embassy employees-along with Imad Fayez Mughniyah, the chief of Hezbollah's exterior military apparatus.
However, the Interpol ruling was not a complete victory for Argentina. The international body ruled that no red notices should be issued for former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who currently chairs Iran’s State Expediency Council and is deputy chair of the Assembly of Experts.
It also ruled against issuing a red notice for Ali Akbar Velayati, former Iranian Foreign Minister, who is currently the chief foreign policy advisor to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Still, the rulings are important for several reasons. My full blog is here.