Argentina Requests Arrest of Senior Iranian Official over Attack on Jewish Center

The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. (Reuters)
The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. (Reuters)
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Argentina Requests Arrest of Senior Iranian Official over Attack on Jewish Center

The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. (Reuters)
The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. (Reuters)

Argentina's justice department has asked Qatar to arrest a top Iranian official for his alleged participation in a 1994 attack on a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people.

Federal judge Daniel Rafecas late on Monday requested the detention of Iran Vice President for Economic Affairs Dr. Mohsen Rezaei Mirghaed, who is currently in Qatar, so he can be tried in Argentina.

Argentina does not currently have an extradition treaty with Qatar.

Investigations into the 1994 attack, in which an explosives-laden truck blew up outside the Argentine Israeli Mutual Association (AMIA) building, have made little progress.

Argentine courts have blamed the attack on Iran. But no one has been brought to trial in either that case or a deadly 1992 bombing of the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires. Iran denies playing a role in either attack.



Khamenei Calls on Muslims to Confront Israel

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, September 25, 2024. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, September 25, 2024. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
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Khamenei Calls on Muslims to Confront Israel

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, September 25, 2024. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, September 25, 2024. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei called on Muslims on Saturday "to stand by the people of Lebanon and the proud Hezbollah with whatever means they have and assist them in confronting the ... wicked regime (of Israel)".

Khamenei, in a statement after the Israeli army said it had killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, said: "The fate of this region will be determined by the forces of resistance, with Hezbollah at the forefront", state media reported, according to Reuters.

After Hezbollah confirmed Nasrallah's death, Iranian media reported that General Abbas Nilforoushan, a deputy commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, had died "next to Nasrallah" in the Israeli strikes on south Beirut on Friday.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani vowed in a post on X that Nasrallah's "path will be continued and his holy goal will be realized in the liberation of Jerusalem".

Meanwhile, two regional officials briefed by Tehran told Reuters that Khamenei has been transferred to a secure location inside the country with heightened security measures in place.

The sources said Iran was in constant contact with Hezbollah and other parties to determine the next step after the killing of Nasrallah.