Iran issues Interpol arrest notice for 48 U.S officials including Trump, for Soleimani assassination

TEHRAN, IRAN: Iran has issued a "red notice" request for the arrest of President Donald Trump and 47 other American officials, through Interpol.

On Tuesday, Gholamhossein Esmaili, Iran's Judiciary spokesperson announced in a press conference that the regime has requested Interpol to arrest President Trump and 47 other American officials - identified for their role in the assassination of General Qassem Soleimani last year.

Esmaili told reporters that "The Islamic Republic of Iran is very seriously following up on pursuing and punishing those who ordered and executed this crime".

General Soleimani, Iran's top general who led the foreign operations wing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (or the Quds Force), was assassinated on January 3rd last year, in an American drone strike in Baghdad, sanctioned by President Trump - an event that pushed the two countries to the brink of an armed escalation.

According to Agnes Callamard, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, this attack was deemed to be against the auspices of international law.

This was the second Iranian request for an international warrant for President Trump, and other U.S officials in the Pentagon and CENTCOM, with the first request predicated on "murder and terrorism charges" was rejected by Interpol in June - with the organisation stating that its constitution forbids it from undertaking “any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious or racial character”.

On Monday, in a ceremony in Tehran marking the anniversary of Soleimani's assassination, Iranian judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi stated that Trump should not be immune due to his political status, adding that "Fortunately, Trump’s presidency has ended. But even if his term hadn’t ended, it would be unacceptable to say someone shouldn’t be accountable to law due to his administrative position".