Iran has issued an arrest warrant against US President Donald Trump and 30 others. The Islamic nation has decided to ‘prosecute’ the US president and others for the drone attack that killed Gen Qassem Soleimani, a top Iranian general in Baghdad.
Iran’s state-run IRNA reported that the accused would face murder and terrorism charges. Though there is no possibility of Trump getting arrested, these charges have heightened tension between the two nations as Trump has already withdrawn America from Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers.
BREAKING: Iran has issued an arrest warrant for President Donald Trump over the killing of General Qasem Soleimani, according to reports by an Iran news agency.
— SkyNews (@SkyNews) June 29, 2020
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Tehran prosecutor Ali Alqasimehr said that the accusation had been made against Trump and 30 others for their role in the drone strike. He did not mention any name other than Trump but said that Iran would continue to pursue his prosecution even after Trump leaves the President’s post.
Iran requests a ‘red notice’ against Trump
Alqasimehr said that Iran had requested the Interpol for a ‘red notice’ to be put out for Trump and others. It denotes the highest level of arrest request issued by Interpol. A red notice enables local authorities of other countries to arrest a particular suspect. Though it does not mandate extradition or even arrest, a red notice works in limiting the travelling of suspects.
Interpol has not issued any statement regarding Iran’s request and it is highly unlikely that it will. But the warrant indicates the further deterioration of ties between the US and Iran.
Soleimani was killed on 3rd January 2020 by the US. He was the leader of the Revolutionary Guard’s expeditionary Quds Force. Iran had retaliated by firing 15 ballistic missiles targeting American troops in Iraq.