Argentine judge seeks extradition of Ali Akbar Velayati, Khamenei advisor
An Argentine judge has already requested the extradition of Ali Akbar Velayati, former Iranian foreign minister and current advisor to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, from several countries. He is prosecuting Velayati for alleged involvement in the Buenos Aires bombing.
Rodolfo Canicuba has issued an arrest warrant for former Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati on charges of participating in the bombing of the Jewish center in the country's capital, Buenos Aires, and has asked Iraq to extradite him to Argentina.
Ali Akbar Velayati traveled to Baghdad on Wednesday to participate in the Islamic Awakening Forum, and according to a report by the United Press Agency that published news of Velayati's trip, an Argentine judge has asked the Iraqi government to arrest him so that his extradition process can proceed.
The Argentine government made a similar request to Singapore and Malaysia last July during a provincial visit to these countries.
According to a Reuters report, Ali Akbar Velayati's name is on the Interpol list.
In 1994, a bombing at the Argentine Jewish aid center known as AMIA killed about 100 people, and Iran was soon accused of planning and providing the means for the explosion.
According to Argentine judicial authorities, Lebanese Hezbollah carried out the explosion on the orders of Iranian authorities.
Following this claim, the international police force known as Interpol issued arrest warrants for nine Iranian officials, including then-President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.
Other individuals still under investigation include Ali Fallahian (then Minister of Intelligence of the Islamic Republic of Iran), Mohsen Rezaei (then Commander-in-Chief of the Islamic Republic of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps), Ahmad Reza Asghari (former Third Secretary of the Islamic Republic of Iran's Embassy in Argentina), Ahmad Vahidi (former Commander of the IRGC's Quds Force), and Mohsen Rabbani (former Cultural Counselor of the Islamic Republic of Iran's Embassy in Argentina).
Iran denies any involvement in the explosion and says the accusation is false.
Last year, Alberto Nisman, the Argentine prosecutor who was pursuing the case, was killed the day before he was to testify against the country's then-president and present evidence about the government's cover-up of the case, and the case once again came into the media's attention.
In 2013, the former president of Argentina signed an agreement with Iran to investigate the AMIA case, establishing a joint fact-finding committee, but the new president of Argentina, Mauricio Macri, canceled the agreement.
Source: Voice of America
