Iran has issued an arrest warrant and asked Interpol for help in detaining US President Donald Trump and dozens of others it believes carried out the drone strike that killed a top Iranian general in Baghdad.
Tehran prosecutor Ali Alqasimehr said on June 29 that Trump, along with more than 30 others Iran accuses of involvement in the January 3 attack that killed General Qassem Soleimani, face “murder and terrorism charges,” ISNA news agency reported.
Alqasimehr did not identify anyone else sought other than Trump, but stressed Iran would continue to pursue his prosecution even after his presidency ends.
Interpol, based in Lyon, France, said in a statement that its constitution forbade it to undertake "any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious or racial character," according to Al Jazeera.
“Therefore, if or when any such requests were to be sent to the General Secretariat,” it added, “… Interpol would not consider requests of this nature."
CNN says US Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook called the move a “political stunt” during a joint press conference with the Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir on Monday.
“It's propaganda that we're used to,” Hook said. “This has nothing to do with national security, international peace or promoting stability, so we see it for what it is — it's a propaganda stunt that no one takes seriously and makes the Iranians look foolish,” he added.
The US killed General Soleimani, who oversaw the Revolutionary Guard Corps's expeditionary Quds Force, and others in the January attack near Baghdad International Airport.
The assassination came after months of incidents raising tensions between the two countries and ultimately saw Iran retaliate with a ballistic missile strike targeting American troops in Iraq.
