Not lost in the chaos of all things related to outgoing U.S. president Donald Trump is Iran’s recent renewed request for Mr. Trump’s arrest. As reported here, Iran is seeking the arrest and extradition of Mr. Trump in order to prosecute him for last year’s targeted killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani.
While it is almost unthinkable that a foreign actor could order the assassination of a U.S. military general on U.S. soil without swift repercussion, thus far Mr. Trump has avoided any consequence for the drone strike that he reportedly ordered. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions reportedly deemed the killing to be against international law.
Iran’s request for a Red Notice in Mr. Trump’s name, however, faced the expected hurdle that any Red Notice request for a sitting president would encounter: Article 3 of INTERPOL’s Constitution, which prohibits INTERPOL from becoming involved with any matter of a political nature.
National Public Radio reported that INTERPOL commented directly on this matter, and explained its refusal to issue the requested Red Notice on the grounds of Article 3:
“it is strictly forbidden for the Organization to undertake any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious or racial character.”
Iran previously attempted to obtain a Red Notice for Mr. Trump and that request was denied, as well. It remains to be seen whether another attempt is made once he leaves office.
As always, thoughts and comments are welcomed.