Argentina has requested Pakistani and Sri Lankan authorities arrest Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi while he visits those countries. The Argentine judiciary has accused Vahidi of being one of those responsible for orchestrating the 1994 bombing of the AMIA that killed 85 people.

AMIA is a Jewish community center located near downtown Buenos Aires. On July 18, 1994, it was destroyed by a bomb that killed 85 people and left 300 wounded. The Argentine judiciary investigated allegations that it was orchestrated by the religious group Hezbollah with the backing of the Iranian government. However, this was never conclusively proven, and the investigation is still open.

Interpol released a red notice calling worldwide law enforcement to arrest Vahidi at Argentina’s request. A red notice is a wanted notice, not an international arrest warrant. Countries can decide whether to arrest a person based on their current laws.

The Interpol notice says that Vahidi is wanted for aggravated murder and damages.

Vahidi is currently on an official trip to visit Pakistan and Sri Lanka. 

“Argentina calls for the international arrest of those responsible for the 1994 AMIA attack […] who are still in positions of power in total impunity,” said a communiqué released by the Argentine foreign ministry on Tuesday.

The Argentine foreign and security ministries are working alongside the country’s embassies in Pakistan and India to try and arrest Vahidi. In addition, the Argentine Federal Police Interpol headquarters in Buenos Aires requested its counterpart in Islamabad, Pakistan, to arrest Vahidi in order to extradite him to Argentina.

Two weeks ago, an Argentine high court confirmed convictions for a slew of former Argentine judiciary members and government officials involved in a cover-up of the 1994 AMIA bombing. One of the three federal judges examining the case, Carlos Mahiques, stated in his presentation that Iran and the militant group Hezbollah were behind the bombings.

The ruling, issued by the Federal Chamber of Criminal Cassation, was a result of its revision of a 2019 trial that investigated the cover-up. The case of the actual investigation into the attack was not under review.

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