As President Donald Trump approaches a deadline for Iran to decide whether to extend a two-week ceasefire between the countries, the focus is turning not on Iran’s president, Massoud Pezhekian, but on a shadowy Revolutionary Guard commander with a long record of terror, repression and radical ideology.
Ahmad Vahidi, recently elevated to head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, an elite paramilitary force within Iran’s military, is emerging as Iran’s most powerful figure and, according to analysts, one of the key figures in deciding whether Tehran will resume fighting or continue talks.
“By any standards, Vahidi is considered a radical even within the regime’s hardline elite, and his rise is a warning that Tehran’s war machine is now calling the shots,” foreign policy analyst and journalist Lisa Daftari told Fox News Digital.
“Putting a man with such a bloody and murderous record at the helm of the Revolutionary Guard Corps confirms that the regime is not averse to pressure. On the contrary,” Daftari added, “it has doubled down on hostage-taking, assassinations and domestic repression. By any standards, Wahid is considered a hard-liner. The rise is a warning that Tehran’s war machine now calls the shots.”
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Why it matters: Analysts say Vahidi’s rise could move Iran toward peace or deeper conflict. For the US, it means an increased risk to the military, allies and global stability if a radical figure with a history of ties to terrorist networks is now helping to call the shots in Iran.
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Ahmad Vahidi, recently elevated to the top of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the elite paramilitary force within Iran’s military, is emerging as the most powerful man in Iran.
(Getty Images)
Vahidi’s rise comes at a moment when Iran’s formal political institutions appear weaker than ever.
Experts today describe the Islamic Republic as a system in which informal networks and personal relationships are more important than official titles.
Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, described Iran as “not a law, but a system of people who have succeeded in institutionalizing their power”, where decisions are increasingly made through Revolutionary Guard figures rather than a civilian government.
Benny Sabti, an Iran expert at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies, said Vahidi may now be more influential than parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf or Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s son Mojtaba Khamenei.
“In my opinion, even if there is coordination between them, he is more influential now. This is not the time for internal competition,” said Sabati, adding that Wahidi is the only one who will meet the new Supreme Leader face-to-face.
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Long before Qassem Soleimani’s name was known to the world, Vahidi was one of the men who helped build the infrastructure of Iran’s foreign terror operations.
Long before the world knew the name of Qassem Soleimani, the longtime commander of Iran’s elite Quds Force who was killed in a 2020 US drone strike, Vahidi was one of the men helping build the infrastructure for Iran’s foreign terror operations.
Soleimani served as the commander of the Quds Force in the 1990s, before taking on elite roles responsible for foreign operations, covert operations and support for proxy groups.
Analysts say Vahidi played a key role in building a network of Iran’s terrorist allies in the Middle East, particularly in Lebanon.
“Ahmed Wahidi is the embodiment of the most militant wing of the Islamic Republic,” Daftari told Fox News Digital. “As Qassem Soleimani’s predecessor in the Quds Force, he helped build Tehran’s terrorist infrastructure abroad.”
Sabti said Wahidi was part of the original generation of Iranian operatives who forged ties with militant groups in Lebanon before and after the 1979 Islamic revolution.
Some accounts suggest that he trained in camps linked to Palestinian and Lebanese factions in southern Lebanon, helping to lay the foundation for Iran’s alliance with Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed terrorist group in Lebanon.
Vahidi has been linked by analysts and Western governments to some of the deadliest attacks carried out by Iran-backed networks over the past four decades.
As commander of the Quds Force from 1988 to 1998, he has been linked to the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing that killed 241 US service members, the 1996 Khobar Tower attack in Saudi Arabia and the 2008 attack on the US embassy in Yemen.
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Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei receives protection from the elite Nopo force after his father was killed in a February 28 US-Israeli attack on a Tehran compound.
The office noted that Wahidi “is implicated by Argentine prosecutors in the 1994 bombing of the AMIA (Association Mutual Israel Argentina) Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires.” 85 people were killed in the bombing.
Argentine investigators and courts have also linked Vahidi to the 1992 bombing of the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires, although the Interpol Red Notice against him is specifically for his alleged role in the 1994 AMIA bombing.
In April, Argentina turned its attention to Vahidi after the government of Argentine President Javier Maile designated the entire Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization and named him.
Announcing the move, the Argentine government said red notices remained in place for several Iranian officials, “among them former Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi, who was recently appointed to lead the IRGC.”
Vahidi has been subject to multiple levels of sanctions by both the United States and the European Union. The sanctions significantly restrict his ability to travel, move money or do international business.
Washington first imposed sanctions on Iran in 2010 over its links to its nuclear and missile programs. Vahidi was reassigned in 2022 for “being an official of the Government of Iran and having been responsible for or involved in ordering, controlling, or otherwise directing the commission of serious human rights violations against persons in Iran or Iranian nationals or residents, or family members of the above, on or after June 12, 2009, even if such events occurred in Iran.”
Mahsa Amini was reappointed by the United States under Executive Order 13553 in 2022 after his death, while he served as Secretary of the Interior and oversaw the regime’s response to nationwide protests.
According to the US Treasury, Vahidi was sanctioned during the crackdown for ordering internet blackouts and Iran’s law enforcement command, known as Naza.
The European Union first ratified them in 2008, and in 2022 imposed parallel bans on the use of live ammunition, arbitrary detention of protesters and journalists, and violent suppression of demonstrations.
Human rights groups accused Iranian authorities of using live fire, mass arrests and torture against protesters, resulting in more than 30,000 deaths.
“Under his leadership, more such crimes against Jews and non-Jews are expected in the West,” warned Yigal Karman, founder and president of the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).
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According to experts, Vahidi is not just another radical, but the most extreme figure within Iran’s already radical ruling class.
Sabti warned that Vahidi’s growing influence would make Tehran less likely to agree to a real ceasefire.
“He brings more radicalism to the system and does not want to stop the war, because it serves the interests of the Revolutionary Guards to continue,” Sabti said.
The biggest worry surrounding Vahidi is that even if Iran agrees to a ceasefire, he may see it only as an opportunity to regroup.
That concern has taken on new urgency as Trump’s term approaches.
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Iranians react after a ceasefire was announced in Enqlab Square, Tehran, Iran, April 8, 2026.
If Vahidi is indeed the one calling the shots on Iran, analysts say the key question is whether Iran wants a ceasefire, but the Revolutionary Guard commander believes continued confrontation serves his interests best.
Carman said, “Believing him is a grave mistake. He belongs to the strict ‘Death to America’ corps.”
Iran’s mission to the United Nations declined to comment.
Original article source: Who is Ahmed Wahidi? Iran’s new IRGC is linked to major global aggression and ‘death to America’ ideology
