**Vahidi's appointment has provoked international attention due to his alleged involvement in past terrorist activities and ongoing sanctions against him.**
**Iran Appoints Ahmad Vahidi as New Commander of Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps**
**Iran Appoints Ahmad Vahidi as New Commander of Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps**
**Brig. Gen. Ahmad Vahidi, a controversial figure with a past tied to human rights violations, takes over following the demise of Gen. Hossein Salami.**
Iran has formally announced the appointment of Brig. Gen. Ahmad Vahidi as the new head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) following the death of his predecessor, Gen. Hossein Salami, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on June 14, 2025. Vahidi, whose background has rendered him a contentious figure both domestically and globally, steps into a role that is critical in safeguarding Iran's Islamic governance.
Brig. Gen. Vahidi is particularly notorious outside Iran for his alleged involvement in the 1994 bombing of the Argentine-Israeli Mutual Association in Buenos Aires, an act that resulted in the tragic loss of 85 lives and left hundreds injured. Argentine prosecutors have since issued arrest warrants for Vahidi and several other Iranian officials, charging them with orchestrating the attack. In 2007, Interpol responded by releasing a Red Notice, which serves to alert law enforcement agencies worldwide about the existing warrants for their arrest.
Born in 1958, Vahidi grew up in Shiraz, where his academic pursuits in electronic engineering coincided with the 1979 Iranian Revolution. He joined the IRGC during this pivotal period and later served in various senior security capacities throughout the eight-year Iran-Iraq war that followed. From 1988 to 1998, he commanded the IRGC's Quds Force, responsible for extraterritorial operations and intelligence.
Vahidi's political career includes a tenure as deputy defense minister, followed by his appointment as defense minister from 2009 to 2013, and later as interior minister until August 2024. His record has drawn the ire of several nations, leading the United States, the European Union, Canada, and the United Kingdom to impose sanctions against him for alleged human rights abuses.
The appointment of Ahmad Vahidi reflects Iran's ongoing efforts to consolidate power within its military and political infrastructure amid rising regional tensions and global scrutiny.
