By Pishtaz | 2025-04-25

As Argentina continues to pursue justice for the victims of the July 19, 1994 attack on the Argentine-Israelite Mutual Association in Buenos Aires, the lead prosecutor in the case has called for the arrest of Iranian leader Ali Khamenei.

Sebastian Basso made the request for an international and Argentinian warrant against Khamenei before a federal court on April 9.

He asked for an Interpol notification for the arrest and ordered Argentine federal security forces to detain Khamenei if he enters Argentine territory, IranWire reported.

Basso said Khamenei "led the decision" to carry out a bomb attack in Buenos Aires in July 1994 and issued the executive order to carry it out.

The arrest warrant request comes as Argentina pursues a long and troubled quest to hold the perpetrators of the Buenos Aires bombing -- the deadliest in the country's history -- to account for their crimes.

The attack in the Argentinian capital, carried out by operatives of Lebanese Hizbullah, killed 85 people and wounded 300 others.

On the 25th anniversary of the attack in 2019, Argentina designated Lebanese Hizbullah as a terrorist organization for its role, and froze its assets.

'Crime against humanity'

In 2015, shortly before he was due to present evidence that a former Argentine president had covered up the Iranian regime's involvement in the bombing, Basso’s predecessor Alberto Nisman was assassinated.

In April 2024, Argentina's highest criminal court declared the Islamic Republic responsible for the "crime against humanity" committed in July 1994, the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies said in an April 10 brief.

"There is no doubt about Khamenei’s role in the bombing," FDD Action managing director Toby Dershowitz said.

"He led the Committee for Special Operations meeting on August 14, 1993, in the city of Mashhad, which made the decision to carry out the terrorist attack," and issued the fatwa that legitimized it.

Argentina previously avoided issuing arrest warrants against Khamenei, believing that his official role gave him immunity from prosecution, the FDD said.

But Basso noted that all of the Iranian regime's military and foreign policies are under Khamenei’s direct supervision and that the Iranian leader is the "main supporter of groups with military capabilities, such as Hizbullah."