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.



Iran Air Cancels Flights to Beirut until Further Notice

An IranAir Airbus A320 passengers aircraft taxis after landing at Belgrade's Nikola Tesla Airport, Serbia, March 13, 2018. REUTERS/Marko Djurica/File Photo
An IranAir Airbus A320 passengers aircraft taxis after landing at Belgrade's Nikola Tesla Airport, Serbia, March 13, 2018. REUTERS/Marko Djurica/File Photo
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Iran Air Cancels Flights to Beirut until Further Notice

An IranAir Airbus A320 passengers aircraft taxis after landing at Belgrade's Nikola Tesla Airport, Serbia, March 13, 2018. REUTERS/Marko Djurica/File Photo
An IranAir Airbus A320 passengers aircraft taxis after landing at Belgrade's Nikola Tesla Airport, Serbia, March 13, 2018. REUTERS/Marko Djurica/File Photo

Iran Air has cancelled all flights to Beirut until further notice, the airline's spokesman told local media including the Tasnim news agency on Saturday.

Earlier on Saturday, reports said Israel has breached the communication network of the control tower at Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport and warned an Iranian plane against landing.

Also, a source at the ministry told Reuters that Lebanon's transport ministry asked an Iranian aircraft not to enter its airspace after Israel warned air traffic control at Beirut airport that it would use "force" if the plane landed.