Iran said it has called for Interpol to help arrest President Donald Trump and 35 other US officials for the January killing of its top general in an American drone strike. Tehran prosecutor Ali Qasi Mehr, quoted by state news agency IRNA, said 36 US political and military officials “involved in the assassination” of General Qasem Soleimani “have been investigated and were ordered to be arrested through Interpol”.
Iran demands that Interpol arrest President Trump
“These people have been charged with murder and terrorist acts,” he said. “At the top of the list is US President Donald Trump, and his prosecution will continue even after the end of his term,” said the prosecutor, referring to his bid for re-election in November.
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Qasi Mehr, quoted on the judiciary’s Mizan Online official website, said “the Iranian judiciary has issued arrest warrants against the 36”. He called for the international police agency Interpol to issue red notices, which are not arrest warrants but are issued for those wanted for prosecution or sentencing.
Iran has issued an arrest warrant and asked Interpol to help detain US President Donald Trump and others it believes carried out a drone strike that killed General Qassem Soleimani in January https://t.co/YRGbDeCT1a
— The Sydney Morning Herald (@smh) June 29, 2020
Tehran on Monday announced it will seek the arrest of 36 people in connection with the US assassination of General Soleimani in January. A request for assistance will be sent to Interpol, Tehran’s chief prosecutor said, adding that President Trump tops the list of suspects.
Interpol denies request on constitutional grounds
Interpol, however, held that any such intervention would be contrary to its constitution, without directly confirming it had been contacted by Iran. Interpol’s own rules would not allow it to act on an Iranian request to arrest US President Donald Trump for the murder of Qassem Soleimani, the international police cooperation body said.
Interpol says it can't act on Iran's request to arrest Trump for ordering the killing of General Soleimani.
Perhaps they should have issued a Fatwa instead ? https://t.co/eEkc4I6URf— 🌹Karl (Disenfranchised)🌹 (@karl_trotsky) June 29, 2020
The Lyon-based organization told if it receives a request to arrest Trump, its own rules will not allow it to act on it. Interpol acts as a liaison between law enforcement organizations in member states, helping them to collaborate with each other in solving crimes and arresting suspects trying to flee justice in a different jurisdiction.
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Interpol maintains political neutrality and is barred by its charter from getting involved in activities of a political, military, religious, or racial nature, a spokesperson for the organization said. Under Article 3 of the constitution, “it is strictly forbidden for the Organisation to undertake any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious or racial character”, said the agency. “Interpol would not consider requests of this nature.”
Allegations against US President
Soleimani, the commander of the elite Quds Force, was killed in a US airstrike when he was visiting Iraq. The killing of Soleimani, who headed the Quds Force, the foreign operations arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, provoked massive outpourings of grief at home. Washington said the killing was justified by the general’s planning of attacks against American soldiers. Soleimani, a national hero at home, was “the world’s top terrorist” and “should have been terminated long ago”, Trump said at the time. Tehran considers it an act of state terrorism.
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Brian Hook, the US point man on Iran policy, scoffed at the Iranian request to Interpol as a “propaganda stunt”. “Our assessment is that Interpol does not intervene and issue red notices that are based on a political nature,” he told a news conference in the Saudi capital Riyadh. “This has nothing to do with national security, international peace or promoting stability,” Hook said. “We see it for what it is. It’s a propaganda stunt that no-one takes seriously and makes the Iranians look foolish.”
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Iran retaliated by firing a volley of ballistic missiles at US troops stationed in Iraq, but Trump opted against responding militarily. While the attack on the western Iraqi base of Ain Al-Asad left no US soldiers dead, dozens suffered brain trauma.
News Desk with additional input by RT and other sources
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