Argentina seeks Rafsanjani arrest

Mr Rafsanjani was Iran's president in 1994

An Argentine judge has issued an arrest warrant for former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani over the 1994 bombing in Buenos Aires.

The federal judge also issued international arrest warrants for eight other ex-Iranian officials.

Last month, Argentina accused former authorities in Tehran of masterminding the attack on Buenos Aires' Jewish Centre in which 85 people died.

Iran has rejected the charge, describing it as a "Zionist plot".

Iranian authorities were accused by Argentine prosecutors of directing Lebanese militia group Hezbollah to carry out the attack, which also injured 300 people.

Hezbollah has also denied its involvement in the attack.

Cases unsolved

The blast, on 18 July 1994, reduced the seven-storey Jewish-Argentine Mutual Association (AMIA) community centre to rubble.

The blast was the worst terror attack in Argentina's history

No-one has ever been convicted of the attack, but the current government has said it is determined to secure justice.

Over the years, the case has been marked by rumours of cover-ups and accusations of incompetence, but little in the way of hard evidence.

Minor figures have been named, including a policeman who sold the van used in the attack, but no-one has been convicted.

Local Jewish groups have long said the bombing bore the hallmarks of Iranian-backed Islamic militants.

The 1992 bombing of the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires, which killed 29 people, also remains unsolved.