Iran says arrest Donald in gen. slay
Iran has requested the unlikely arrest of four dozen American officials including President Trump in connection with the killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani.
The “red notice” submitted to Interpol asks that Trump and other officials be apprehended for their roles in the drone strike that struck down the popular Iranian military leader near Baghdad International Airport in January 2020, according to Al Jazeera.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran is very seriously following up on pursuing and punishing those who ordered and executed this crime,” Iranian judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili reportedly said.
Iranian prosecutors made a similar call for U.S. accountability in June, charging the targeted strike against the military leader was an act of “murder and terrorism.”
Interpol rejected that request, stating the international policing agency doesn’t get involved in matters related to political, military or religious figures.
Iranian judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi said at a ceremony marking the anniversary of the assassination that President Trump should not enjoy diplomatic immunity from prosecution.
“Fortunately, Trump’s presidency has ended,” Raisi reportedly said. “But even if his term hadn’t ended, it would be unacceptable to say someone shouldn’t be accountable to law due to his administrative position.”
Trump is expected to leave office Jan. 20 if his efforts to maintain power by overturning the results of the Nov. 3 election are not successful. He has, without evidence, contradicted election officials and judges who determined the election was conducted properly.
The Trump administration notched up tensions with Iran even further Tuesday when the Treasury Department leveled sanctions against the Middle Eastern nation’s steel industry.
“The Trump administration remains committed to denying revenue flowing to the Iranian regime as it continues to sponsor terrorist groups, support oppressive regimes and seek weapons of mass destruction,” Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said in a statement announcing those sanctions.
Iran has reportedly stepped up its efforts to enrich uranium, which it insists is for peaceful purposes. That claim has been met with skepticism.