Iranians gather to mourn Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike, on Jan. 4.
Photo: wana news agency/ReutersIran issued a warrant to arrest President Trump and 35 others over the killing of a top Iranian general earlier this year, a largely symbolic order that is Tehran’s latest attempt to draw international attention to what it has labeled an act of terrorism.
Iran has asked Interpol for assistance in detaining the individuals, who include Mr. Trump and political and military officials from the U.S. and other countries, Tehran Prosecutor-General Ali Alqasi Mehr said Monday, according to the semiofficial Fars news agency.
Mr. Mehr didn’t disclose the names of the other officials sought by Iran, but said all of them were involved in the killing of Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was targeted in an American drone strike in Iraq’s capital in January.
“This is another political stunt by the Iranian regime,” White House Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook said during a visit to Saudi Arabia Monday. “It’s a propaganda stunt that no-one takes seriously and makes the Iranians look foolish.”
Interpol didn’t comment directly on Iran’s announcement but said in an emailed statement that according to its constitution, “it is strictly forbidden for the Organization to undertake any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious or racial character.”
If it received a request of such nature, Interpol said, it wouldn’t act upon it.
Since the U.S. withdrawal in 2018 from the 2015 multilateral nuclear deal, Iran has regularly called the U.S. a rogue state that doesn’t respect international conventions. At the same time, Tehran has sought to portray itself as a responsible international actor by seeking to hold Washington accountable in international institutions.
President Trump on June 25.
Photo: Evan Vucci/Associated PressIran has said it filed a complaint to the United Nations Security Council over a U.S. spy drone that it said violated Iran’s airspace and was shot down in 2019. It has called the U.S. halting of funding to the World Health Organization “shameful.”
Using terminology often used by U.S. officials about Iran, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif has called the killing of Mr. Soleimani a “rogue” act.
The regime has also sought to boost its image at home by talking tough against the U.S., whose sanctions it has blamed for many of its economic problems.
After the U.S. in 2019 designated the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization, Iran responded by labeling U.S. forces in the Middle East, known as U.S. Central Command, a terrorist group as well. Following the killing of Mr. Soleimani, Iran’s parliament passed a bill that designated the entire U.S. military as a terrorist organization.
Tehran said in January that it intended to file a lawsuit against the U.S. government and military in the International Court of Justice over the killing of Mr. Soleimani, the semiofficial Mehr news agency quoted judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili as saying.
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As head of the Quds Force, a clandestine wing of the Revolutionary Guard responsible for Iran’s military operations abroad, Mr. Soleimani ordered dozens of attacks across the Middle East, including on American troops and interests.
The drone strike against Mr. Soleimani’s vehicle outside Baghdad airport, which also killed Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Mohandes, was ordered by Mr. Trump, who said it was meant to prevent an imminent attack on American interests.
Iran retaliated to Mr. Soleimani’s killing by launching a barrage of missiles targeting Iraqi bases that housed American personnel. More than 100 U.S. troops suffered traumatic brain injuries from the attack. Both sides pulled back from the brink of war, but tensions continue to simmer.
—Stephen Kalin in Riyadh contributed to this article.
Write to Sune Engel Rasmussen at sune.rasmussen@wsj.com
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