Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi has been appointed as the new chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) at a time when Iran is being subjected to a devastating joint military operation by the United States and Israel.
The death toll within the country has reached at least 1,230 since the commencement of the attacks, which have targeted major cities and resulted in the assassination of a significant portion of Iran’s top military and political hierarchy.
Vahidi’s predecessor, Mohammad Pakpour, was killed on 28 February during the initial stage of the offensive, which also claimed the life of the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Pakpour had assumed the post following the death of Hossein Salami, who was killed by Israeli forces during a 12-day conflict in June 2025.
A veteran of the IRGC since its formation in the late 1970s, Vahidi previously commanded the elite Quds Force from 1988 to 1997 before the role was taken over by Qassem Soleimani in 1998. Soleimani was subsequently killed in a 2020 US drone strike.
Vahidi has also held prominent political positions, having served as the minister of defence under former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and as the minister of the interior under the late President Ebrahim Raisi until 2024.
Ali Alfoneh of the Arab Gulf States Institute described Vahidi as a “capable bureaucrat” and an “ideal chief commander” for the IRGC, noting that he is “intimately familiar” with the US and Israel due to his reported involvement in secret arms negotiations during the 1980s Iran-Contra affair.
Vahidi remains a figure of international controversy, with Interpol having issued a red notice against him for his alleged involvement in the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish community centre in Buenos Aires. Tehran has dismissed these allegations as “baseless”.
Additionally, he has faced sanctions from the US and the European Union for his role in suppressing the 2022 protests following the death of Mahsa Amini. Mohammad Ali Shabani, editor-in-chief of Amwaj, has characterised Vahidi as a “brutal” leader, suggesting that hardliners are moving swiftly to fill leadership gaps created by the conflict.
The new commander must now navigate a decentralised military structure that was intentionally designed by former chief Major General Mohammad-Ali Jafari to survive the potential fall of the capital or the loss of central leadership. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi recently indicated that some military units have become “independent and somewhat isolated”.
Nader Hashemi of Georgetown University noted that the leadership is seeking a “reliable and dependable candidate” who can maintain institutional continuity and inspire the rank and file despite overwhelming military odds. Meanwhile, Iranian official Ali Larijani has stated that the nation’s forces are “waiting” for a potential US ground invasion as hostilities continue, including recent missile strikes on two schools in Parand.
