Argentina Asks Interpol to Arrest Iran Minister over Jewish Center Bombing

Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi during a press conference. Reuters
Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi during a press conference. Reuters
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Argentina Asks Interpol to Arrest Iran Minister over Jewish Center Bombing

Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi during a press conference. Reuters
Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi during a press conference. Reuters

Argentina has asked Interpol to arrest Iran's interior minister over the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people, the foreign ministry said Tuesday.

The Iranian minister, Ahmad Vahidi, is part of a delegation from Tehran currently visiting Pakistan and Sri Lanka, and Interpol has issued a red alert seeking his arrest at the request of Argentina, the ministry said in a statement.

Argentina has also asked those two governments to arrest Vahidi, it added, according to Agence France Presse.

On April 12, a court in Argentina placed blame on Iran for the 1994 attack against the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires and for a bombing two years earlier against the Israeli embassy, which killed 29 people.

The 1994 assault has never been claimed or solved, but Argentina and Israel have long suspected the Iran-backed group Hezbollah carried it out at Iran's request.

Prosecutors have charged top Iranian officials with ordering the attack, though Tehran has denied any involvement.

The court also implicated Hezbollah and called the attack against the AMIA -- the deadliest in Argentina's history -- a "crime against humanity."

Tuesday's statement from the foreign ministry said: "Argentina seeks the international arrest of those responsible for the AMIA attack of 1994, which killed 85 people, and who remain in their positions with total impunity."

"One of them is Ahmad Vahidi, sought by Argentine justice as one of those responsible for the attack against AMIA," said the statement, which was co-signed by the security ministry.

Argentina has previously stated that Vahidi, a former senior member of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps, is one of the key masterminds of the AMIA bombing and sought his extradition.



Tanker Hit by Houthis Salvaged, Red Sea Disaster Averted

Explosions take place on the deck of the Greek-flagged oil tanker Sounion on the Red Sea, in this handout picture released August 29, 2024. Houthi Military Media/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Explosions take place on the deck of the Greek-flagged oil tanker Sounion on the Red Sea, in this handout picture released August 29, 2024. Houthi Military Media/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
TT

Tanker Hit by Houthis Salvaged, Red Sea Disaster Averted

Explosions take place on the deck of the Greek-flagged oil tanker Sounion on the Red Sea, in this handout picture released August 29, 2024. Houthi Military Media/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Explosions take place on the deck of the Greek-flagged oil tanker Sounion on the Red Sea, in this handout picture released August 29, 2024. Houthi Military Media/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

A risky operation to salvage an oil tanker attacked by Houthi militants in the Red Sea and avert what could have been one of the largest oil spills in recorded history has been completed, British maritime security company Ambrey and Greece have said.
The 900-foot Greek-registered MT Sounion, carrying 150,000 tons of crude oil, was struck by several missiles and drones and caught fire on Aug. 21, triggering fears of an oil spill that could cause catastrophic environmental damage in the area.
Months later, the vessel was declared safe and its cargo was removed, said Ambrey, which led the salvage operation, according to Reuters.
Greece had urged all nations to assist with the case with political negotiations extending from the Houthis, who eventually allowed salvage teams to tow the ship to Saudi Arabia.
"It's a great relief, mainly due to the environmental disaster risk. It was a very complex operation," Greek Shipping Minister Christos Stylianides told Reuters on Monday. "I feel relieved and content."
In mid-September, Sounion, which was hit 58 miles off the Yemeni coast, was towed to a safe location 150 miles to the north by a flotilla of seven salvage vessels escorted by the European Union's naval force Aspides.
Extinguishing the fires on board took three weeks in difficult climate conditions, Ambrey said, and the vessel was later towed north to Suez for her cargo to be removed.
More than 200 people and six companies - Megatugs Salvage & Towage, Diaplous, Offmain, Fire Aid, Pro Liquid and Ambipar Response, were involved in the projects.
As Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis visited Saudi Arabia on Monday, a Greek government official said the salvage of Sounion was pivotal in boosting bilateral ties.