| (WASHINGTON) – U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, commented today on reports that during a recent session, members of Iran’s so-called parliament expressed support for Ahmad Vahidi, wanted in connection to the 1994 AMIA attack in Argentina, to serve as Ahmadinejad’s defense minister. Statement of Ros-Lehtinen:
“Faced with Iranian deputies expressing support for the nomination of this AMIA suspect while they chanted ‘death to Israel’, will the UN and responsible nations still fail to take seriously Iran’s genocidal threats against Israel and the Jewish people? Will they finally hold the Iranian regime accountable for threats to global peace and security?
“Responsible nations must condemn the incendiary appointment of Vahidi and arrest him under the authority of the INTERPOL Red Notice the moment he sets foot outside Iran.”
Background: The Argentine government has condemned the nomination of Vahidi, who along with four other Iranian officials were placed on INTERPOL’s most wanted list for their suspected roles in the 1994 attack on the Argentine Jewish Mutual Association (AMIA). The State Prosecutor of Argentina has concluded that the attack was approved in advance by Iran’s ‘Supreme Leader’ and other top Iranian officials, and was carried out by a member of Hezbollah. Vahidi is also a former commander of the Quds Force, an elite unit of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
Note: Ros-Lehtinen is the author of the Iran Threat Reduction Act (H.R. 1208), which would apply economic and political pressure against the Iranian regime to compel it to stop its pursuit of unconventional weapons and missile capabilities, as well as its sponsorship of global Islamist militants. This bill enjoys the support of over 115 cosponsors. Ros-Lehtinen also authored H. Con. Res. 156, a bipartisan resolution commemorating the 15th anniversary of the AMIA attack. The House passed that resolution unanimously in July.
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