Iran prosecutor strikes back at Argentineans who ordered arrest of ex-president News
Iran prosecutor strikes back at Argentineans who ordered arrest of ex-president

[JURIST] A top Iranian prosecutor called for the arrest and extradition of several Argentina officials and judges Sunday in response [IRNA report] to an Argentinean judge's Thursday arrest order [JURIST report] for former Iran President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani [official website, in Persian; BBC profile] and eight other Iranian officials for their alleged roles in the AMIA Jewish cultural center bombing [Wikipedia backgrounder; BBC report] that killed 85 people and wounded over 200 more in Buenos Aries in 1994.

After Argentina [JURIST news archive] federal judge Rodolfo Canicoba Corral issued last week's arrest warrants, Iranian Prosecutor-General Qorbanali Dorri-Najafabadi wrote to Tehran prosecutors requesting the issuance of arrest warrants for those involved in the investigation of the bombing, including former lead judge Juan Jose Galeano, who was dismissed from the case in the midst of corruption allegations, the current prosecutor and other legal officials. Argentinean prosecutors claim [JURIST report] that Iranian officials authorized the bombing while members of Hezbollah [BBC backgrounder] actually carried out the attack. Iran [JURIST news archive] has repeatedly denied having a role [BBC report] in the bombing's planning and execution. Iran prosecutor Dorri-Najafabadi said he wants Galeano and others involved in the case arrested because "making propaganda against Iran is a crime" and he plans to seek "spiritual and financial compensation" [Reuters UK report] for their "conspiracy against the Iranian nation." Reuters has more.

7:05 PM ET – An Iranian foreign ministry spokesman later Sunday called the Argentinean arrest warrants "hasty" and said they reflected US influence. He said Iran would turn over its information on the AIMA bombing to Interpol [official website]. From Tehran, IRNA has more.