The new deputy commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force, Brigadier General Mohammad Hejazi, was involved in the 1994 bombing of the Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, international intelligence sources say.
The car bombing at the Associacion Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA) killed 85 people and wounded hundreds more. It is considered to be the worst terror attack in Argentina's history.
According to international intelligence claims, 64-year-old Hejazi participated in the planning of the attack and has avoided international travel since fearing an Interpol warrant for his arrest.
Among his recent responsibilities, Hejazi was tasked with transporting weapons to Iranian-backed Lebanese terror group Hezbollah.
Former Argentine federal prosecutor Alberto Nisman, who was found shot dead in mysterious circumstances in 2015, was assigned the task of investigating the AMIA bombing and had formally accused Hezbollah and the Iranian government of directing the attack.
Hejazi was appointed along with Esmail Ghaani, the new commander of the Quds Force, after the killing last month of Qassem Soleimani in a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad. The two assumed their positions on Monday at a ceremony held at the IRGC headquarters in Tehran.
First published: 12:19, 01.21.20