Iran issues arrest warrant for Trump over General Soleimani's killing, seeks Interpol's 'red notice'
An arrest warrant has been issued for President Donald Trump by Iran over the killing of the country's top general Qassem Soleimani.
According to the ISNA news agency, Tehran prosecutor Ali Alqasimehr said Iran has requested Interpol to detain the POTUS and 35 others who are reportedly facing "murder and terrorism charges" over the military strikes. Soleimani lost his life on January 3 after being struck by a US drone. Washington holds Soleimani responsible for plotting attacks by Iran-led militias on US forces in the region.
Iran has reportedly requested a "red notice" for Trump — the highest level arrest request issued by Interpol. While Alqasimehr did not identify anyone other than the president on the list, the prosecutor stressed that Iran would continue to target him even after he is out of office.
The fresh charges highlight the ongoing tensions between Iran and the US ever since Trump pulled out of Tehran’s nuclear deal with various world powers. If a country requests for "red notice" and is granted the same by Interpol, local authorities make the arrest on behalf of the country. And while the notices cannot force countries to extradite suspects, they can potentially put government leaders on the spot and limit their travel if they are a suspect.
"After receiving a request, Interpol meets by committee and discusses whether or not to share the information with its member states," as reported by Metro. "Interpol has no requirement for making any of the notices public, though some do get published on its website. It is unlikely Interpol would grant Iran’s request as its guideline for notices forbids it from ‘undertaking any intervention or activities of a political’ nature."
Soleimani's death came after months of incidents that heightened tensions between the two countries. Iran purportedly retaliated with a ballistic missile strike on American troops stationed in Iraq.
Last week, a supposed "mysterious blast" in Iran went viral on social media with endless curiosity over what caused it. The country claimed that it was an accidental explosion in the gas pipeline or a blast caused by a gas leak at a civilian storage site in the desert. Iran’s Fars news agency said several social media users reported witnessing an “orange light” to the south-east of Tehran after what the authorities claimed was an explosion in an industrial gas tank. The agency, which is close to Iran’s ultra-conservatives, cited informed sources to say that the incident was not linked to the country’s military — but observers in the West and Israel, however, think otherwise.
But now, other speculations surrounding Iran's attempts to test their "ballistic missiles and defense systems" have started surfacing. A report in Zero Hedge said the massive blast prompted Iran’s defense ministry to address the issue, given the fact that the explosion happened near a sensitive military site. While a spokesperson of the Middle Eastern nation dismissed the blast as an accident at a gas storage facility in a “public area” of Parchin, located about 20 miles southeast to the national capital, analysts in the West said the area was close to Iran’s alleged secretive missile manufacturing sites.
NBC News correspondent Raf Sanchez said in a tweet: “Satellite image shows the aftermath of the explosion at Khojir missile base in Iran. One building completely destroyed and a large burn area. Iran claims a gas tank exploded near a military base. There's no sign of a gas tank here and the blast is inside the base.”