Interpol Adds Buenos Aires Bombing Suspects to Most-Wanted List
By Andrew Cochran
Interpol today added five Iranians and a Lebanese man to its most-wanted list over their suspected role in the 1994 bombing of the Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The bombing killed 85 and injured 250. In adding the suspects, Interpol members soundly rejected Iranian objections, with members voting overwhelmingly in favor of the proposed additions, 78-14, with 26 abstentions.
Quoting from the AP story: "The six wanted notices are for former Iranian intelligence chief Ali Fallahian; Mohsen Rabbani, former cultural attache at the Iranian Embassy in Buenos Aires; former diplomat Ahmad Reza Asghari; Mohsen Rezaei, former leader of the elite Revolutionary Guards; Ahmad Vahidi, a general in the Revolutionary Guards; and Hezbollah militant Imad Moughnieh, one of the world's most sought-after terror suspects. Moughnieh, whose whereabouts are unknown, is wanted for his alleged role in the kidnapping of Westerners in Lebanon in the 1980s, and suicide attacks on the U.S. Embassy and a Marine base in Lebanon that killed more than 260 Americans."
We've followed this process closely over the past year, including withholding sensitive information from release at the request of Interpol officials. Several of our Contributing Experts have covered and analyzed it continuously since the 1994 bombing. This clear victory vindicates the years of dogged pursuit by Interpol and Argentine prosecutors and demonstrates the eventual fruits of persistent international cooperation between law enforcement agencies. It also adds an important international imprimatur to efforts to sanction Iran for sponsoring international terrorism for years.
See the following CTB posts about the matter:
Douglas Farah, "Small Progress in Argentina," October 26, 2006
Aaron Mannes, "AMIA Background," October 27, 2006 - and Aaron also wrote, "Terror in Buenos Aires: A lesson in Hezbollah terror" in 2005 on National Review Online
Douglas Farah, "Small But Important Steps on Iran, Hezbollah and Argentina," March 5, 2007
Matthew Levitt, "Dangerous Partners: Targeting the Iran-Hizballah Alliance," August 1, 2007 (full piece on Washington Institute website)