On Tuesday, Argentina announced that it has requested Interpol to arrest Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi for his involvement in the bombing that targeted a Jewish center in Buenos Aires in 1994. The ministry stated that Vahidi is currently part of an Iranian delegation visiting Pakistan and Sri Lanka, and Interpol has issued a red notice for him at Argentina's request. Additionally, Argentina has asked the governments of Pakistan and Sri Lanka to detain the Iranian minister and hand him over.
On April 12, an Argentine court held Tehran responsible for two deadly attacks that targeted the Jewish community in the country nearly three decades ago.
Who is Ahmad Vahidi?
On Tuesday evening, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Buenos Aires stated in a statement that "Argentina is seeking the international arrest of those responsible for the attack on AMIA in 1994, which resulted in the deaths of 85 people, who still hold positions with complete impunity." The statement noted that one of these wanted individuals is "Ahmad Vahidi, sought by Argentine justice as one of those responsible for the attack on the AMIA center." It continued, "This person currently holds the position of Minister of Interior of the Islamic Republic of Iran and is part of a government delegation currently visiting Pakistan and Sri Lanka."
The statement highlighted that "Argentina has requested the governments of Pakistan and Sri Lanka to arrest him according to the mechanisms provided by Interpol."
Vahidi was appointed Minister of Interior in 2021 after previously serving as Minister of Defense. At the time of the Buenos Aires attack, Vahidi was the commander of the Quds Force, the secret operations unit of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
In 1992, an attack on the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires left 29 dead. Two years later, the "Argentine-Israeli Mutual Association" (AMIA) center in the capital was bombed with a truck loaded with explosives, resulting in 85 deaths and injuries to 300 others.
More than three decades after these attacks, the second chamber of the criminal appeals court held Iran responsible for them, declaring it a "terrorist state." The court also accused the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah, backed by Tehran, and described the AMIA attack—the deadliest in Argentine history—as a "crime against humanity." Argentina is home to the largest Jewish community in Latin America, numbering around 300,000 individuals, and is also a hub for immigrant communities from the Middle East, particularly from Syria and Lebanon.
