This archive report was first published on 30 June 2020.
On June 29, 2020, Iran's judiciary issued arrest warrants for 36 US officials, including President Donald Trump, over the January 3 drone strike that killed top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani.
Tehran prosecutor Ali Qasi Mehr stated that the 36 US officials 'involved in the assassination' of General Soleimani 'have been investigated and were ordered to be arrested through Interpol.'
According to Mehr, the Iranian judiciary has issued arrest warrants against the 36 individuals, and he called for Interpol to issue red notices, which are not arrest warrants but issued for those wanted for prosecution or sentencing.
However, Interpol stated that any such intervention would be contrary to its constitution, which prohibits political, military, religious, or racial activities.
US pointman on Iran policy, Brian Hook, dismissed the Iranian request as a 'propaganda stunt,' saying that Interpol does not intervene in cases based on political nature.
The killing of Soleimani, who headed the Quds Force, the foreign operations arm of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, sparked massive outpourings of grief at home and led to Iran firing ballistic missiles at US troops stationed in Iraq.
