Arrest warrant issued to Trump over Soleimani killing

Iran has sought Interpol’s aide for issuing an arrest warrant to US President Donald Trump over the killing of General Qassem Soleimani. It has accused Trump and 30 others of their involvement in the airstrike on January 3rd, which caused the death of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps General, and pressed “murder and terrorism charges” on them.

The arrest warrant for the US President comes nearly six months after the killing of the Iranian general caused by a US drone strike, preceded by the USA’s withdrawal from relations with Iran, in addition to the imposition of trade sanctions on the country.

Ali Alqasimehr, Tehran’s prosecutor, said on Monday that he identifies Trump as the primary accused in this case and that they will continue to press charges over him well after the end of his presidential tenure. He added that Iran also seeks a ‘red notice’ in Trump’s name, which is the highest level of arrest request that could be given in the name of someone to the Interpol. He also requested for the US President to be added to the ‘Wanted’ list. Interpol, however, was unavailable for comment on the same.

Soleimani was a general at Iran’s Quds Force, the foreign operations wing of the elite paramilitary Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps responsible for extraterritorial military and clandestine operations. Under Trump’s presidency, he was named a terrorist and was blamed for several human rights violations in the country as well as abroad. Many experts say Trump breached international law with the Soleimani assassination.