World

Argentina Asks Russia to Hand Over Senior Iranian Official Over 1994 Bombing

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Argentinе Foreign Ministry has asked Russia to detain a visiting Iranian official who it accuses of a role in the nation’s worst ever bombing of a Jewish center in 1994.
Sputnik

"The Foreign Ministry has filed a request with Russian authorities through the Argentine Embassy in Moscow to detain for extradition former Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati," it said in a statement.

Argentina Seeks Renewed Deal With Iran to Investigate 1994 Bombing
Velayati, an Iranian professor of medical sciences and top diplomat from 1981 to 1997, is in Russia as special adviser to the Iranian president. He is scheduled to leave for Beijing on Friday.

The Argentine Foreign Ministry said it was awaiting a response from Russia under the existing extradition pact. It added a similar request would also be filed to China in the coming hours.

READ MORE: Ex-Argentine President to Be Tried for Alleged Jewish Center Bombing Cover-Up

The bombing at a building of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) in Buenos Aires killed 85 people and injured more than a hundred others. In 2006, Argentine prosecutors formally accused Iran of orchestrating the attack.

Discuss