President Trump is among the three dozen U.S. officials Iran is seeking arrests warrants for the Jan. 3 killing of Iran's Maj. General Qassem Soleimani. He died in an U.S. airstrike in Baghdad. Trump seen here at a briefing on a coronavirus relief program in May. Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption
The government of Iran has issued an arrest warrant and has also requested assistance from Interpol in detaining President Trump as well as other United States military and political leaders for the killing of a prominent Iranian military commander earlier this year.
Though Trump faces no real threat of arrest, the new charges offer fresh evidence that the tension between the U.S. and Iran shows no signs of subsiding.
Gen. Qassem Soleimani was the Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander who was revered in Iran and known for being the mastermind behind many conflicts in the region and against the U.S. He did not become widely known to most Americans until his assassination by a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad on Jan. 3.
Iran's state-run news agency IRNA reports the officials wanted in connection with Soleimani's killing "have been charged with murder and terrorism acts." It also adds, "At the top of the list is US President Donald Trump, and his prosecution will continue even after the end of his term."
Along with Trump, NPR's Peter Kenyon reports, "Iranian media quote Tehran's prosecutor general as saying 36 people are being sought in connection with Soleimani's killing."
He also notes the arrest warrant had been forwarded to Interpol, along with a so-called "red notice," which would disseminate the alert to law enforcement agencies around the world.
The France-based Interpol has not commented on the matter.
It is unlikely however that agency will act on the request given that Interpol's constitution prohibits it from taking on "any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious or racial character."
The U.S. airstrike that killed Soleimani was championed by Defense Secretary Mark Esper as a "decisive defensive action." He said at the time Soleimani was plotting attacks on U.S. diplomats and service members.
A retaliatory attack by Iran came on Jan 8, just days after the U.S. airstrike. Iran fired missiles on the al Asad air base in Iraq where U.S. troops were stationed. As NPR reported dozens of American personnel were diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries in the attack.
The acrimonious relationship between the U.S. and Iran had deteriorated even further when the U.S. withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, commonly referred to as the "Iran nuclear deal" more than two years ago.
It was a deal reached in 2015, under the Obama administration, that included China, France, Germany, Russia, the European Union and U.S., that said in exchange for reduced sanctions, Iran would agree to limit its production of nuclear weapons materials.
"The fact is this was a horrible one-sided deal that should have never, ever have been made," Trump said during a May 2018 announcement that the U.S. was withdrawing from the deal.
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