Ahmad Vahidi appointed new Chief of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard

Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi has been appointed the new chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Vahidi has been associated with the IRGC since the Iranian Revolution. During the 1980s he held several key intelligence and military roles and later led the IRGC’s elite Quds Force from 1988 to 1997. In December 2024, he was appointed deputy commander of the IRGC before being elevated to the top post.

He has publicly pledged to uphold and defend the ideals of Iran’s Islamic Revolution.

Alongside his military career, Vahidi has also played a significant role in Iranian politics. He served as defence minister under former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and later as interior minister in the cabinet of late president Ebrahim Raisi.

Vahidi has faced international allegations for years. Interpol issued a “red notice” against him over the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish community centre in Buenos Aires, an accusation Iran has denied.

He was also sanctioned by the United States and the European Union over Iran’s crackdown on protests following the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini in police custody.