IRGC Chief Ahmad Vahidi and His Hardline Record
By The Media Line Staff
Ahmad Vahidi, recently elevated to lead Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, is emerging as a central figure in Tehran’s decision-making on war and diplomacy, as analysts warn his rise signals a shift toward a more hardline posture.
Analysts say the appointment places significant authority in the hands of a figure long associated with Iran’s external operations and security apparatus. Vahidi previously commanded the Quds Force from 1988 to 1998, before Qassem Soleimani, and is described as having helped build Iran’s network of allied groups across the Middle East, particularly in Lebanon.
His influence comes at a time when power in Iran appears increasingly concentrated within informal networks tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) rather than civilian institutions. Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News the system operates as “a system of men, not laws, but one whose success rested on institutionalizing their power,” pointing to decision-making that flows through military-linked figures.
Beni Sabti, an Iran expert at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies, told Fox News Vahidi’s current standing places him at the center of strategic coordination, stating, “In my view, he is more dominant right now, even if they are coordinated. This is not a time for internal competition.”
Vahidi has been linked by analysts and Western governments to several major attacks, including the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing that killed 241 US service members, the 1996 Khobar Towers attack in Saudi Arabia, and a 2008 attack on the US Embassy in Yemen. Argentine authorities have also tied him to the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, which killed 85 people, and to the 1992 bombing of the Israeli Embassy there.
Journalist focusing on Middle East policy, Lisa Daftari, told the news agency that, “By any standard, Vahidi is considered a radical even within the regime’s hardline elite, and his rise is a warning that Tehran’s war machine now calls the shots.”
Yigal Carmon, founder and president of the Middle East Media Research Institute, told Fox News,” Trusting him is a grave mistake. He belongs to the hard ‘DEATH TO AMERICA’ corps.”
Vahidi remains under sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union tied to Iran’s nuclear and missile programs and alleged human rights abuses.
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