Who is Ahmad Vahidi, the IRGC’s new commander?
Al Jazeera
Ahmad Vahidi takes command of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as the country battles a devastating US-Israeli assault.
Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi has a job that’s among the most powerful and influential in Iran – and one in which the shadow of death constantly hovers.
Vahidi has taken command of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps at a particularly challenging moment, amid a joint US-Israeli war on his country that has killed more than 1,000 people, devastated Iranian cities, and assassinated much of the country’s senior military leadership.
His is a dangerous job. Qassem Soleimani, the long‑time commander of the IRGC’s elite Quds Force, for example, was killed in a US drone strike in 2020 ordered by US President Donald Trump.
Mohammad Pakpour, the most recent IRGC chief, was also killed during the opening phase of the joint Israeli-US attacks on February 28. Pakpour had been appointed only after Israel killed his predecessor, Hossein Salami, during the 12-day war in June 2025.
This churn at the top of the IRGC underscores the risks attached to one of the most powerful posts in Iran’s military establishment. Now, Vahidi is tasked with a responsibility that even Soleimani, an iconic figure in Iran, never had to embrace: Leading the sword edge of Iran’s military in an actual, full-blown war.
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