Iran applies to Interpol for Trump’s arrest over killing of Soleimani

Tehran has applied to Interpol for an international arrest warrant for U.S. President Donald Trump in connection with the murder of the Iranian top general Qassem Soleimani a year ago.

Iran’s justice spokesman Gholam Hossein Ismaili disclosed this on Iranian state television on Tuesday

“In this regard, we have filed a ‘red notice’ at Interpol against 48 people, including Trump, U.S. commanders, and Pentagon representatives as well as U.S. troops in the region,” Ismaili said.

There is constructive cooperation with neighbouring Iraq on the issue, the spokesman added.

Interpol, founded in 1923, coordinates policing operations for its 194 member states.

A country can use the “red notice” to request other countries to track down and arrest a person.

On Jan. 3, 2020, on Trump’s instructions, the U.S. Army killed Soleimani, who was on a visit to Iraq with a rocket attack near Baghdad airport.

The influential Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Mohandes, the deputy head of Iraq’s Hashd al-Shaabi militia, was also killed.

Soleimani was the commander of the elite Quds Force, part of an elite unit of the Iranian armed forces.

He coordinated the activities of militias loyal to Iran in Iraq and other countries.

President Hassan Rowhani called Soleimani a national hero and he has become a legend in the region after his assassination by the U.S.

Tehran will avenge his murder “in due course” and at the same time take legal action against Trump and the Pentagon, Rowhani said.