Iran’s defence minister-designate is on an Interpol “wanted” list over the 1994 bombing of a Jewish centre in Argentina, the agency has confirmed.
It says it has had a “red notice” for Ahmad Vahidi since 2007 over the Buenos Aires attack that killed 85 people.
Interpol uses red notices to inform its 187 member countries that an arrest warrant has been issued for an individual by a judicial authority.
Israel and Argentina have expressed concern over Mr Vahidi’s nomination.
“This is yet another of [Iranian President Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad’s actions that prove he is a person you cannot deal with,” Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Andy David told Bloomberg.
“It’s significant, this nomination, but no surprising,” Argentine prosecutor Alberto Nisman told the Associated Press.
“Iran has always protected terrorists, giving them government posts, but I think never one as high as this one,” he said.
Tehran rejected the criticism as a “Zionist plot”.
Iranian lawmakers still have to confirm the 21-member cabinet proposed on Wednesday by Mr Ahmadinejad – the declared winner of June’s disputed presidential elections.
But the nomination of Mr Vahidi is another sign of Mr Ahmadinejad’s defiance of the West, the BBC’s Caroline Hawley says.
‘Key participant’
Interpol says that Mr Vahidi has been o… >>>
