The Argentine government on Tuesday, April 23, asked Pakistan and Sri Lanka to arrest Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi, wanted for the attack on the Jewish mutual fund Amia in Buenos Aires in 1994. Considered the mastermind of the the most serious attack in the country’s history, he is currently touring these two countries.
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“ Argentina calls for the international arrest of those responsible for the 1994 Amia bombing [Association mutuelle israélite argentine – NDLR]which caused the death of 85 people, and who continue in their positions of power with complete impunity », Wrote the Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a press release.
“ One of them is Ahmad Vahidi, claimed by the Argentine justice system to be one of those responsible for the attack against Amia. This individual is currently Minister of Interior of the Islamic Republic of Iran and is part of a government delegation visiting Pakistan and Sri Lanka these days », continues the text.
“ Argentina requested his arrest from the governments of Pakistan and Sri Lanka in accordance with the mechanisms provided by Interpol », he adds.
THE General Vahidi has been Minister of the Interior since 2021, after having been Minister of Defense. At the time of the Buenos Aires attack, he headed the Quds Force, the covert operations unit within the Revolutionary Guards, the ideological army of the Iranian regime.
The Amia attack on July 18, 1994 was attributed by the Argentine courts and by Israel to the Iranian regime and the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah, his ally. Iran has denied any involvement and has always refused to allow the eight former officials indicted by the Argentine courtsincluding General Vahidi and ex-president Ali Rasfanjani, are questioned.
Argentina has the largest Jewish community in Latin America, with some 300,000 members.
Before Amia, the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires was the target of an attack in 1992 which left 29 dead and 200 injured. Iran had also been blamed.
In 2013, then-Argentine President Cristina Kirchner signed a memorandum of understanding with Iran to create a “ truth commission » intended to investigate the attack. The protocol also wanted to allow Argentine prosecutors to travel abroad to question the accused.
This agreement was ratified by the Argentine Congress, but never by the Iranian Parliament. He was castigated by leaders of the Jewish community in Argentina, who accused Cristina Kirchner of covering up the perpetrators of the attack. A judicial investigation opened on this subject in 2015, however, ended with a dismissal of the case in 2021.
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