Ahmad Vahidi

Sardar
Ahmad Vahidi
احمد وحیدی
Vahidi in 2016
Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
Incumbent
Assumed office
1 March 2026
PresidentMasoud Pezeshkian
Preceded byMohammad Pakpour
Acting
13 June 2025
PresidentMasoud Pezeshkian
Preceded byHossein Salami
Succeeded byMohammad Pakpour
Member of Expediency Discernment Council
Incumbent
Assumed office
14 March 2012
Appointed byAli Khamenei
ChairmanAkbar Hashemi Rafsanjani
Ali Movahedi-Kermani (Acting)
Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
Sadeq Larijani
Deputy Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
In office
27 December 2025 – 1 March 2026
CommanderMohammad Pakpour
Minister of Interior
In office
25 August 2021 – 21 August 2024
PresidentEbrahim Raisi
Mohammad Mokhber (acting)
Masoud Pezeshkian
Preceded byAbdolreza Rahmani Fazli
Succeeded byEskandar Momeni
Minister of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics
In office
3 September 2009 – 15 August 2013
PresidentMahmoud Ahmadinejad
Preceded byMostafa Mohammad-Najjar
Succeeded byHossein Dehghan
Personal details
BornVahid Shahcheraghi
(1958-06-27) 27 June 1958
Shiraz, Imperial State of Iran
(present-day Iran)
Military service
Branch/service IRGC
Years of service1979–present
RankBrigadier General
CommandsQuds Force
Battles/warsIran–Iraq War
2026 Iran War

Vahid Shahcheraghi (Persian: وحید شاه‌چراغی, born 27 June 1958), better known as Ahmad Vahidi (Persian: احمد وحیدی),[1] is an Iranian military officer who serves as the incumbent commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), appointed on 1 March 2026.[2] He previously served as the deputy commander of IRGC from December 2025 until the death of Mohammad Pakpour in the 2026 Iran war. Vahidi also served as the Minister of Interior from 2021 to 2024 and is currently a member of the Expediency Discernment Council.[3]

Since the 1980s, Vahidi has been linked to terrorism, specifically targeting the United States and Israel.[4][5] Interpol has issued a red notice for his arrest in connection with the 1994 AMIA bombing in Argentina.[5] Domestically, he was involved in developing Iran's weapons of mass destruction and suppression of protestors during the Mahsa Amini protests.[5] Vahidi is sanctioned by the US and the European Union for alleged involvement in terrorism and nuclear proliferation.[6]

In 1988, he was appointed commander of the IRGC's extraterritorial and elite special forces unit, the Quds Force, which specializes in unconventional warfare and military intelligence operations.[7] He was the minister of defense under Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from 3 September 2009 until 15 August 2013. Vahidi was president of the Supreme National Defense University from August 2016 to 2021.[8]

Early life and education

Vahid Shah Cheraghi was born on 27 June 1958 in Shiraz.[9] He holds a bachelor's degree in electronics and a master's degree in industrial engineering.[9] He acquired a doctorate in strategic studies from Imam Sadegh University.[10]

Career

Vahidi joined the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) in 1979.[9] He was made deputy to the then IRGC commander Mohsen Rezaee for intelligence affairs in 1981.[9] The same year, he was also named commander of the Balaal base.[9] In 1983, he joined the Quds Force, an IRGC extraterritorial and special forces unit, which specializes in unconventional warfare and military intelligence operations.[9] He holds the rank of brigadier general.[11] From 1988 to 1997, he led the Quds Force.[12]

Vahidi was appointed deputy minister of defense in 2005 when Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar became minister of defense.[10] He was in office until 2009. In August 2009, he was appointed minister of defense by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He received 79.3% of the votes of the members of the parliament. Vahidi's term ended on 15 August 2013 and Hossein Dehghan replaced him in the post.[13]

He was appointed the temporary chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps following the death of Hossein Salami during the June 2025 Israeli strikes on Iran.[14] On March 1, 2026, he was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the IRGC.[15]

Controversies

According to Mohammad Ali Shabani of the Middle Eastern newspaper Amwaj, Vahidi is a known hardliner as commander of the IRGC compared to his predecessors, Mohammad Pakpour and Hossein Salami.[12]

Vahidi is subject to sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union on allegations of involvement in terrorism and nuclear proliferation activities.[16][17][18][19][20]

Nuclear weapons development

Vahidi was identified by the European Union in 2008 as a terrorist due to his role in Iran's nuclear activities and weapons development.[4] In June 2010, Vahidi was blacklisted by the US government. This measure aims to freeze the assets of proliferators of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and their supporters, thereby isolating them from the US financial and commercial systems.[21]

Mahsa Amini protests

In 2022 amid the Mahsa Amini protests, Vahidi criticized those inciting violence and following the "United States, European countries and anti-revolutionary groups."[22] Later, he was sanctioned by the US government for serious human rights violations due to him maintaining oversight over all Law Enforcement Forces (LEF), which were deployed to suppress protesters.[23]

Anti-American activities

Vahidi’s time with the IRGC is marked by efforts to target Americans, coinciding with threats from Tehran toward US personnel. As a leader and member of the Quds Force, he was linked to the 1983 bombing of US Marine barracks in Beirut,[4][24] as well as to the attack on the US embassy in Yemen via a reported alliance with al-Qaeda operatives in Sudan during the 1990s.[5] In the mid-1980s, Vahidi was involved in secret contacts between Iran and US President Ronald Reagan's administration related to the Iran-Contra affair and arms deliveries.[12] Additionally, he was suspected of involvement in the 1996 bombing of the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia.[5] The bombing resulted to the deaths of 19 US Air Force personnel.[4]

Antisemitism and anti-Zionism

In 1992, Vahidi was linked to a bombing that occurred on an Israeli embassy.[4]

Vahidi has been wanted by Interpol since 2007 for his alleged participation in the bombing of the Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 18 July 1994, in which 85 people were killed.[25][26] Vahidi was serving as the commander of a special unit of Iran's Revolutionary Guard known as the Quds Force when the attack took place.[25] He is one of five Iranians sought in the bombing. Iran denies that it was involved,[27] while Argentine prosecutors accuse him of involvement in planning and executing the attack.[28]

In 2009, his anti-Zionist speech during his nomination as defence secretary was well-received by the Iranian parliament, with deputies chanting "death to Israel".[29] His nomination as defence minister was condemned by the Argentinian government.[29]

In 2010, he urged the international community to "fully boycott" and "fully cut diplomatic, economic and political ties with the Zionist regime" in support of killed activists delivering aid at the Gaza Strip.[30]

In May 2011, Vahidi paid an official visit to Bolivia.[31] In June 2011, Bolivia apologized to Argentina for Vahidi visiting the country, and announced that he would be leaving the country immediately.[32]

In August 2021, Vahidi was made Interior Minister by the then-newly elected president Ebrahim Raisi. This triggered condemnation from Argentina given his suspected role in the 1994 AMIA bombing, with the now-former head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship of Argentina describing the appointment of Vahidi as "an insult to Argentina and a blow to the families of the victims" of the bombing.[33]

In April 2024, Argentina's criminal court (Court of Cassation) ruled that the attack had been planned by Iran, and carried out by the Iran-backed organization Hezbollah.[34] In May 2024 the Argentine Foreign Ministry officially announced that Interpol had issued a red notice for the arrest of Vahidi in connection with the 1994 AMIA bombing. This red notice states that Vahidi is being sought by Argentina for charges of alleged aggravated murder and damages.[35]

References

  1. ^ Alfoneh, Ali (3 June 2021). "The Evolution of Iran's Qods Force Since 1979". The Washington Institute. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  2. ^ "Iran appoints Ahmad Vahidi as new Revolutionary Guards commander". Iran International. 1 March 2026. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  3. ^ "Iran defense minister a terror suspect". The Washington Times. 21 August 2009. Retrieved 23 August 2009.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Iranian Terror Operations on American Soil". GovInfo. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  5. ^ a b c d e De Rita, Olivia (18 March 2026). "Ahmad Vahidi: New Hardline IRGC Chief Backfills War Loss". Grey Dynamics. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  6. ^ "Ahmad Vahidi". Open Sanctions.
  7. ^ Kenneth Katzman (6 February 2017), "Iran's Foreign and Defense Policies" (PDF), Congressional Research Service, Federation of American Scientists, p. 25, retrieved 1 March 2017
  8. ^ "Iran News Round Up – August 3, 2016". AEI Critical Threats Project. 3 August 2016. Archived from the original on 7 August 2016. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  9. ^ a b c d e f Sahimi, Mohammad (1 August 2012). "The IRGC Strategic Brain Trust Part 1: Ghasem Soleimani and Ahmad Vahidi". PBS. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  10. ^ a b "A Brief Biography of Iran's New Ministers". Payvand. 7 September 2009. Archived from the original on 10 July 2018. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  11. ^ "Iran's ex-defense minister claims country is world's sixth missile power". Tehran: Fox News. Associated Press. 18 August 2013. Archived from the original on 19 August 2013. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
  12. ^ a b c Ali, Faisal. "Who is Ahmad Vahidi, the IRGC's new commander?". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 20 March 2026. 'The man [Ahmad Vahidi] is brutal. Hardliners wasting no time filling vacancies thanks to Israel,' Shabani added.
  13. ^ Fulton, Will (7 August 2013). "Rouhani's Cautious Pick For Defense Minister". Al Monitor. Archived from the original on 10 August 2013. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
  14. ^ "By EXECUTIVE ORDER OF THE SUPREME LEADER, Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi has been appointed as TEMPORARY COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE IRGC". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved 13 June 2025.
  15. ^ "Iran appoints Ahmad Vahidi as new Revolutionary Guards commander - state media". Iran International. 1 March 2026. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  16. ^ "Ahmad Vahidi". Open Sanctions.
  17. ^ "EU broadens Iran sanctions regime in response to brutal crackdown". FT.
  18. ^ "All You Need to Know About American Sanctions against the Islamic Republic". Iran Wire.
  19. ^ "All You Need to Know About American Sanctions against the Islamic Republic". Iran Wire.
  20. ^ "Brigadier-General Ahmad Vahidi". Iran Watch.
  21. ^ "U.S. Treasury Department Targets Iran's Nuclear and Missile Programs". US Treasury Department. Retrieved 21 January 2013.
  22. ^ France-Presse, Agence (24 September 2022). "Iranian authorities must 'deal decisively' with protests, says president". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  23. ^ "Treasury Sanctions Iranian Leaders Responsible for Internet Shutdown and Violent Crackdown on Peaceful Protests". U.S. Department of the Treasury. 23 December 2025. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  24. ^ "The Fog over the 1983 Beirut Attacks". FRONTLINE - Tehran Bureau. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  25. ^ a b "Iran Parliament Approves Minister Wanted in Deadly Jewish Center Bombing". Fox News. Associated Press. 3 September 2009. Retrieved 21 January 2013.
  26. ^ "Argentina: More international arrest warrants issued for 1994 Jewish center bombing". South American Political and Economic Affairs. 16 November 2007. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  27. ^ "Iran rejects as "baseless" Argentina's accusation it was involved in bombing". KUNA. 3 October 2010. Retrieved 21 January 2013.
  28. ^ "What to Know About the New Head of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps". New York Times. Retrieved 19 January 2026.
  29. ^ a b Sturcke, James (2 September 2009). "Iran anoints anti-Jewish bomb suspect as defence secretary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  30. ^ "Iran calls on world to cut ties with Israel". Reuters. 31 May 2010. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  31. ^ Yapp (1 June 2011). "Iran defense minister forced to leave Bolivia over 1994 Argentina bombing". The Telegraph. São Paulo. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
  32. ^ "Bolivia apologizes to Argentina for Iran minister visit". BBC News. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  33. ^ "Buenos Aires Times | Government condemns appointment of Iranian minister linked to AMIA attack".
  34. ^ "Argentina seeks arrest of Iranian minister over 1994 bombing". BBC News. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  35. ^ Torres, Abel Alvarado, Mauricio (24 April 2024). "Argentina seeks arrest of Iranian minister over 1994 bombing of Jewish community center". CNN. Retrieved 8 May 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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