Iran issues arrest warrant for Trump over assassination of Qasem Soleimani News
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Iran issues arrest warrant for Trump over assassination of Qasem Soleimani

Tehran Prosecutor Ali Alqasimehr announced Monday that Iran has ordered through Interpol the arrests of 36 US political and military officials, including President Donald Trump, who were allegedly involved in the assassination of General Qasem Soleimani in January. Interpol responded in a statement that they “would not consider requests of this nature.”

Trump and the 35 others face several charges, including “murder and terrorist acts,” according to the Iranian state news agency, the IRNA. The announcement failed to mention by name any of the other 35 officials but did state that “At the top of the list is US President Donald Trump, and his prosecution will continue even after the end of his term.”

Reportedly, Iran’s request to Interpol was for the issuance of Red Notices for the entire group. Red Notices are the highest-level arrest request that Interpol issues and “are issued for fugitives wanted either for prosecution or to serve a sentence. A Red Notice is a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action.” Notably, they do not guarantee extradition or prosecution, only provisional arrest.

In a statement to CNN, Interpol said that they “would not consider requests of this nature.” They also clarified that “it was not in accordance with its rules and constitution, which states ‘it is strictly forbidden for the organization to undertake any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious or racial character.'”

Trump has not commented on the issuance of the arrest warrants. However, Brian Hook, the US special representative for Iran, reportedly dismissed the arrest warrant as “a propaganda stunt that no one takes seriously and makes the Iranians look foolish” during a news conference in Saudi Arabia on Monday.

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