Argentina called on Sri Lanka to arrest Iranian minister Ahmad Vahidi, who was touted to visit the island alongside Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi this week, accusing him of orchestrating a 1994 attack on a Jewish community centre in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people.
The request from the Argentinian government comes less than two weeks after a court in the country held Iran responsible for the attack and demanded Sri Lanka, as well as Pakistan, which the Iranians visited before arriving in Colombo on Wednesday, arrest Vahidi.
Interpol issued a ‘red notice’ requesting police agencies worldwide to take Vahidi into custody, but this relies on each member country to decide on whether to arrest or not.
Vahidi was part of Raisi’s delegation which travelled to Pakistan but was not to be seen in Sri Lanka. Iran’s official news agency IRNA reported that he was back in Iran, with an official from Sri Lanka’s foreign ministry telling AFP that the interior minister was not listed as part of the Iranian delegation.
Prosecutors have charged top Iranian officials with ordering the attack, though Tehran has denied any involvement. The attack on the Jewish community is being termed as the deadliest in Argentina's history and an incident that the Court of Cassation - the country's highest criminal court – described as a "crime against humanity".
The attacks' "origin lies mainly in the unilateral decision of the government -- motivated by a change in our country's foreign policy between late 1991 and mid-1992 -- to cancel three contracts for the supply of nuclear equipment and technology concluded with Iran," the court said.
According to France 24,
In 2006 Argentine courts requested the extradition of eight Iranians including Rafsanjani and Vahidi, who served as defense minister when Mahmud Ahmadinejad was president.
In 2013 then president Cristina Kirchner signed a memorandum with Iran under which Argentine prosecutors could question the suspects outside Argentina.
The Jewish community in Argentina expressed outrage and accused the president of orchestrating a cover-up.
A prosecutor named Alberto Nisman opened an investigation in 2015 when Kirchner was in the final year of her second term.
Just before he was due to testify before Congress, Nisman was found dead with a gunshot to the head. The cause of death -- suicide or murder -- remains a mystery.
The Argentina justice system eventually dropped its probe of Kirchner.
It is unclear if Sri Lanka would have obliged to Argentina’s request to arrest Vahidi, had he arrived here. The request comes against a backdrop of increasing tensions with the US, who warned that it could impose sanctions on countries that engage in trade relations with Iran.
Raisi meanwhile said, “I assure you that Iran is eager to forge a strong partnership with Sri Lanka, poised to contribute to its growth and development". "Iran stands prepared to offer technical and engineering services for significant development initiatives in Sri Lanka,” he added.
