Argentina on Monday called on Qatar to arrest the visiting Iranian vice president over his alleged responsibility for the deadly 1994 bombing of a Buenos Aires Jewish center (AMIA).
Mohsen Rezai, is wanted by Argentinian special prosecutors for alleged participation in the car bombing of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association, which killed 85 people and wounded 300.
Special prosecutors submitted a petition to Argentina's foreign ministry calling for all appropriate diplomatic levers to be pulled, noting an outstanding Interpol red alert against Rezai as well as newspaper clippings mentioning his visit to Qatar, according to the official Telam news agency.
A diplomatic source said that the foreign ministry had granted the special prosecutor's request after confirming Rezai's presence in the Gulf country.
The ministry "requested the collaboration of Interpol for the arrest," while Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero "instructed the Argentine ambassador in Doha... to communicate urgently with the Qatari Foreign Ministry and report on the situation," the diplomatic source said.
Last January, the Argentine government voiced its anger at Rezai's presence during the inauguration ceremony for Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, and had also condemned the Iranian's appointment to vice president in August 2021.
A former leader of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps, Rezai is believed to be a top adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He has previously threatened to "raze Israeli cities to the ground" if Jerusalem or Washington take any preemptive military action against the Islamic Republic.