HonestReporting CEO in JNS: How an Iranian Vice President’s Arrest Warrant Could Change the World

To read HonestReporting CEO Daniel Pomerantz’s article in Jewish News Syndicate, please click here (excerpt below):

Imagine that a fugitive facing serious criminal charges flies on a private jet into a country where he could be arrested: He lands, moves around freely, publicly attends a presidential inauguration and then safely escapes back to a friendly nation.

It’s a plot worthy of a Jason Bourne movie, except that in this case, the individual’s planned method of escape isn’t a daring act of spycraft, but something arguably more dangerous: political dealings.

As of the writing of this article, Mohsen Rezaee, former commander-in-chief of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Islamic Republic’s current vice president for economic affairs, is in Nicaragua for the fourth inauguration of Daniel Ortega, who many accuse of being an overtly authoritarian ruler.

For his part, Rezaee is wanted on charges of “aggravated murder and damages,” due to his alleged role in the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, which killed 85 people and wounded hundreds more.

In 2006, Argentinean authorities issued an international warrant for Razaee’s arrest. The following year, the warrant was entered as a “Red Notice” through Interpol, the International Criminal Police Organization, which has 194 members, including Nicaragua.In addition, Razaee’s flight path took him through the airspace of numerous other countries that are U.S. allies and Interpol members.

Strictly speaking, Interpol members are not legally obligated to make arrests based on a Red Notice. However, if Nicaragua, as well as every “flyover country,” chooses not to enforce the warrant, and if the United States, in particular, fails to pressure its allies to take action, a clear signal will be sent to Iran: leaders of the Islamic Republic can flout international security norms with impunity.

This is a particularly dangerous time to convey such a message, because the U.S. and five other world powers—France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Russia and China—are engaged in extensive negotiations whose aim is to forge an agreement with Tehran over its nuclear program….

To read the full article, please click here.