INTERNACIONAL
Who is Ahmad Vahidi? Iran’s new IRGC chief tied to global attacks and ‘Death to America’ ideology
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As President Donald Trump’s deadline for Iran to decide whether to extend a two-week ceasefire between the countries approaches, attention is increasingly turning not to Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, but to a shadowy Revolutionary Guard commander with a long record of terror, repression and hardline ideology.
Ahmad Vahidi, recently elevated to the top of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the elite paramilitary force within Iran’s military, is emerging as one of the most powerful men in Iran and, according to analysts, one of the key figures likely deciding whether Tehran resumes fighting or continues talks.
«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,» Lisa Daftari, foreign policy analyst and journalist, told Fox News Digital.
«Putting someone with such a bloody and murderous record at the top of the Revolutionary Guard Corps confirms that the regime is not moderating under pressure. On the contrary,» Daftari added, «it is doubling down on men whose careers are built on hostage‑taking, assassinations, and domestic repression. 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.»
TRUMP’S APOCALYPTIC IRAN WARNING RAISES STAKES FOR SWEEPING US STRIKE THREAT
Why it matters: Analysts say Vahidi’s rise could shape whether Iran moves toward peace or deeper conflict. For the U.S., that means heightened risks to troops, allies and global stability if a hardline figure with a history tied to terror networks is now helping call the shots in Iran.
Ahmad Vahidi, recently elevated to the top of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the elite paramilitary force within Iran’s military, is emerging as one of the most powerful men in Iran. (Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto)
Power increasingly concentrated outside formal institutions
Vahidi’s rise comes at a moment when Iran’s formal political institutions appear weaker than ever.
Experts describe the Islamic Republic today as a system in which informal networks and personal relationships matter more than official titles.
Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, described Iran as «a system of men, not laws, but one whose success rested on institutionalizing their power,» where decisions increasingly flow through Revolutionary Guard figures rather than the civilian government.
Beni Sabti, an Iran expert at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies, said Vahidi may now be even more influential than parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf or even Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei.
«In my view, he is more dominant right now, even if they are coordinated. This is not a time for internal competition,» Sabti said, adding that Vahidi is the only one who meets the new supreme leader face-to-face.
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Long before the world knew the name Qassem Soleimani, Vahidi was one of the men who helped build the infrastructure of Iran’s overseas terror operations. (Morteza Nikoubazl/Nur Photo)
He previously led the Quds Force before Qassem Soleimani
Long before the world knew the name Qassem Soleimani, the longtime commander of Iran’s elite Quds Force who was killed in a 2020 U.S. drone strike, Vahidi was one of the men who helped build the infrastructure of Iran’s overseas terror operations.
He served as commander of the Quds Force in the 1990s, before Soleimani took over the elite unit responsible for foreign operations, covert action and support for proxy groups.
Analysts say Vahidi played a central role in building Iran’s network of terrorist allies across the Middle East, particularly in Lebanon.
«Ahmad Vahidi is the embodiment of the Islamic Republic’s most militant wing,» Daftari told Fox News Digital. «As Qassem Soleimani’s predecessor at the Quds Force, he helped build Tehran’s terror infrastructure abroad.»
Sabti said Vahidi 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 he trained in camps linked to Palestinian and Lebanese factions in southern Lebanon, helping lay the foundation for Iran’s alliance with Hezbollah, an Iran-backed terror group, in Lebanon.
Vahidi has been linked by analysts and Western governments to some of the deadliest attacks carried out by Iranian-backed networks over the past four decades.
As the commander of the Quds Force from 1988 to 1998, he has been connected to the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing that killed 241 U.S. service members, the 1996 Khobar Towers attack in Saudi Arabia, and a 2008 attack on the U.S. Embassy in Yemen.
VANCE WARNS IRAN WILL ‘FIND OUT’ TRUMP IS ‘NOT ONE TO MESS AROUND’ IF CEASEFIRE DEAL FALLS APART
Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei receives protection from elite NOPO force following his father’s assassination in U.S.-Israel attack on Tehran compound Feb. 28. (Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto)
One of the world’s most wanted Iranian officials
Daftari noted that Vahidi «has been implicated by Argentine prosecutors in the 1994 bombing of the AMIA (Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina) Jewish community center in Buenos Aires.» Eighty-five 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 renewed attention on him after its President Javier Milei’s government designated the entire Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization and singled out Vahidi by name.
In announcing the move, the Argentine government said that 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 is under multiple layers of sanctions by both the United States and the European Union. The sanctions significantly restrict his ability to travel, move money or do business internationally.
Washington first sanctioned him in 2010 for links to Iran’s nuclear and missile programs. Vahidi was redesignated in 2022 for «being an official of the Government of Iran and being responsible for or complicit in, or responsible for ordering, controlling, or otherwise directing, the commission of serious human rights abuses against persons in Iran or Iranian citizens or residents, or the family members of the foregoing, on or after June 12, 2009, regardless of whether such abuses occurred in Iran.»
He was redesignated by the United States in 2022 under Executive Order 13553 after Mahsa Amini’s death, when he served as interior minister and oversaw the regime’s response to nationwide protests.
Vahidi was sanctioned for orchestrating internet blackouts and directing Iran’s Law Enforcement Command, known as NAJA, during the crackdown, according to the U.S. Treasury.
The European Union first sanctioned him in 2008, and imposed parallel sanctions in 2022 over the use of live ammunition, arbitrary detention of protesters and journalists, and the violent suppression of demonstrations.
Human rights groups accused Iranian authorities of using live fire, mass arrests and torture against protesters, which resulted in more than 30,000 deaths.
Yigal Carmon, founder and president of the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) warned, «Under his leadership, more such crimes are to be expected in the West against both Jews and non-Jews.»
PAKISTANI GENERAL SAYS IRAN DIPLOMACY STILL ‘ALIVE, DESPITE US BLOCKADE, FAILED TALKS
Iran’s Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi briefs the media on elections in Tehran, Iran, March 4, 2024. Argentina sought the arrest of Vahidi on April 23, 2024, over his alleged involvement in the deadly 1994 bombing of Buenos Aires Jewish community center. (Vahid Salemi/AP)
Analysts say he represents the regime’s most radical faction
Experts say Vahidi is not merely another hardliner, but one of the most extreme figures even within Iran’s already radical ruling elite.
Sabti is warning that Vahidi’s growing influence could make Tehran less likely to agree to a genuine ceasefire.
«He brings even more radicalization into the system and may not want to stop the war, because it serves the interests of the Revolutionary Guards to continue,» Sabti said.
One of the biggest concerns 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 deadline approaches.
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Iranians react after a ceasefire announcement at the Enqelab square, in Tehran, on April 8, 2026. The United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire Tuesday barely an hour before U.S. President Donald Trump’s deadline to obliterate the rival country was set to expire, with Tehran to temporarily reopen the vital Strait of Hormuz. (AFP via Getty Images)
If Vahidi is indeed the man increasingly calling the shots in Iran, analysts say the key question is not whether Iran wants a ceasefire, but whether the Revolutionary Guard commander believes continued confrontation better serves his interests.
Carmon said, «Trusting him is a grave mistake. He belongs to the hard ‘DEATH TO AMERICA’ corps.»
Iran’s mission to the United Nations declined to comment.
war with iran, mojtaba khamenei, middle east foreign policy, ali khamenei, terrorism, iran
Wall Street cerró la jornada del lunes con una leve baja, tras varios días consecutivos de récords impulsados por la reapertura del estrecho de Ormuz, en medio de las renovadas tensiones entre Estados Unidos e Irán. El S&P 500 cayó un 0,22% hasta los 7.110,22 puntos, el Dow Jones Industrial Average perdió un 0,01% hasta 49.445,24 unidades y el Nasdaq Composite retrocedió un 0,25% para ubicarse en 24.408,00 puntos.
La sesión estuvo marcada por la incertidumbre tras la confiscación por parte de Estados Unidos de un buque de carga iraní que habría intentado evadir el bloqueo de puertos iraníes. Como respuesta, Teherán volvió a cerrar el estrecho de Ormuz, apenas dos días después de haberlo reabierto, lo que había provocado el repunte bursátil de la semana pasada. El Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Irán aseguró el lunes que no existen planes para nuevas conversaciones con Washington. Según un funcionario iraní citado por Reuters, Irán evalúa su participación en posibles negociaciones de paz en Pakistán, aunque otra fuente desmintió que representantes estadounidenses viajen a ese país.
El mercado petrolero reaccionó al contexto geopolítico: el precio del barril de Brent subió 5,6% y cerró en USD 95,48 ante los temores de que Irán pueda restringir la salida de crudo por el Golfo Pérsico, si continúan los bloqueos en el estrecho de Ormuz. Aunque los precios actuales están lejos de los máximos alcanzados en el punto álgido del conflicto, cuando el Brent superó los USD 119 por barril, el reciente incremento impactó en empresas con altos costos de combustible, como Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings y Royal Caribbean Group, que registraron caídas de 3,5% y 1,1% respectivamente. United Airlines perdió 2,8% y American Airlines, tras descartar una fusión con su competidor, retrocedió 4,2%.
En contraste con las pérdidas, TopBuild destacó con un alza del 19,4% después de que QXO anunciara su adquisición por aproximadamente USD 17 mil millones, convirtiéndose en el segundo mayor distribuidor de productos para la construcción que cotiza en bolsa en el continente. Las acciones de QXO, sin embargo, descendieron 3,1% tras la noticia.
Una de las razones que ha fortalecido a la bolsa estadounidense en semanas recientes es la publicación de resultados empresariales superiores a lo esperado para el primer trimestre de 2026. Cerca del 10% de las compañías del S&P 500 ya han reportado sus cifras y, según FactSet, casi nueve de cada diez han superado las previsiones. Las principales entidades financieras, entre ellas JPMorgan Chase y Bank of America, han señalado la solidez del gasto de los consumidores como motor clave para la resiliencia de la economía estadounidense. Morgan Stanley destacó que, pese a los riesgos geopolíticos, la recuperación de las utilidades corporativas persiste, con estimaciones de crecimiento del beneficio por acción del 13% respecto al año anterior si el resto de las firmas igualan las expectativas de los analistas.
El sector de servicios de comunicación fue uno de los más afectados: Meta perdió más del 2% y puso fin a una racha de nueve sesiones al alza, la más extensa desde octubre. Por su parte, Netflix acumula una baja cercana al 12% desde el anuncio de resultados y la salida de su cofundador Reed Hastings la semana pasada.
El índice de volatilidad del CBOE (VIX), conocido como el “indicador del miedo” de Wall Street, revirtió su tendencia bajista y cerró en 19,08 puntos, tras subir 1,57 unidades y alcanzar un máximo semanal de 19,99.
Los movimientos relativamente moderados en la jornada reflejan que los inversores aún consideran posible un acuerdo entre Estados Unidos e Irán que permita reanudar el flujo de petróleo desde Oriente Medio hacia los mercados internacionales. El próximo hito será la expiración del alto el fuego el martes a las 20:00 horas de la costa este estadounidense, momento en que se definirá si las negociaciones logran evitar una nueva escalada.
(Con información de AP y Reuters)
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INTERNACIONAL
Carnival Cruise passenger, 67, found dead while snorkeling off the coast of Australia during excursion
Cruise ship rescues stranded sailor and his cat in Gulf drama
A Carnival cruise ship crew spotted distress flares while sailing to Cozumel, Mexico, and rescued a stranded sailor and his cat at sea. Both were brought safely aboard and received care. FOX 26 spoke with two passengers who were on board the ship when the rescue occurred. (credit: Fox 26/Alan Loy)
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A 67-year-old Carnival Cruise passenger died last week while snorkeling off the coast of mainland Australia during an excursion.
The woman, who has not been publicly identified, was a passenger aboard the Carnival Splendor, which offers snorkeling excursions to the Tangalooma Wrecks. She reportedly drowned near Moreton Island on April 17, Cruise Hive reported.
«Carnival Cruise Line is deeply saddened by the death of a guest on Moreton Island on Friday,» the cruise line told local media. «Our Care Team is supporting the guest’s family during this difficult time.»
Fox News Digital has reached out to Carnival.
FATAL FIRE ENGULFS CRUISE SHIP WITH HUNDREDS OF PASSENGERS ABOARD: ‘I PANICKED’
«Carnival Cruise Line is deeply saddened by the death of a guest on Moreton Island on Friday,» the cruise line told local media. (iStock)
Local authorities said the woman, a resident of Tasmania, was found unresponsive in the water.
«Attempts were made to revive the woman, however, she was pronounced deceased at the scene,» a Queensland Police spokesperson told Fox News Digital. «Investigations are ongoing into the circumstances surrounding her death.»
CRUISE PASSENGERS WITNESS TERRIFYING RESCUE AT SEA AS STRANDED MAN AND CAT PULLED FROM FAILING SAILBOAT
The Carnival Splendor in Australia, near the Sydney Opera House. A passenger on the ship reportedly died last week while snorkeling off the coast of Brisbane. (Carnival Cruise Line)
The death occurred during the ship’s four-night round trip cruise from Sydney, which included two days at sea and 10 hours at Moreton Island.
The waters around the island, located off the coast of Brisbane, are generally calm and are known for shipwreck snorkeling sites and diverse marine life.
The waters around the island, located off the coast of Brisbane, are generally calm and are known for shipwreck snorkeling sites and diverse marine life. (Pedro Portal/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service)
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The woman’s death occurred only hours before another emergency on the same ship. On April 18, a passenger in his 70s reportedly climbed over the vessel’s safety rails and went overboard.
An intensive search lasted for several hours before being suspended. The two incidents are not believed to be linked.
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INTERNACIONAL
Spanberger faces ‘bait-and-switch’ backlash in final hours before redistricting referendum
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Opponents of Virginia Democrats’ redistricting referendum are accusing Gov. Abigail Spanberger of a «bait and switch,» pointing to her campaign-trail pledge of «no plans» to redraw the state’s congressional map ahead of Tuesday’s vote.
Former Virginia Govs. George Allen and Glenn Youngkin, along with a slew of top conservatives, have opposed the effort, which would redraw the commonwealth’s 6-5 Democratic map to a 10-1 map crafted by Senate President L. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, and backed by Spanberger.
«Behold the great bait and switch,» Del. Michael Webert, R-Fauquier, said, sharing a screenshot of October reporting highlighting Spanberger’s apparent pledge not to support what she now is vocally behind.
«Vote No,» said Webert, whose district forms a boundary between the Washington, D.C., suburbs set to accrue political power if the referendum passes and the hundreds of miles of rural expanse south and west that are poised to lose their voice.
SOROS-BACKED GROUP AMONG LIBERAL ORGS PUMPING EYE-POPPING CASH INTO VIRGINIA GERRYMANDERING EFFORT
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat, is being criticized for signing a bill that critics say hand the state’s electoral votes away. (Steve Helber/AP Photo; Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The latter is a major concern for U.S. Rep. Ben Cline, a Botetourt Republican whose district runs from Roanoke to the northernmost West Virginia line at Berryville along the Blue Ridge Mountains and Shenandoah Valley, which Cline said stand to lose their otherwise homogenous voice in Washington.
Cline told Fox News Digital how Spanberger was previously a colleague on the House Agriculture Committee and «loved to talk about her connection to Virginia agriculture.»
«My district is currently the most agriculture-based district in Virginia and she has chopped it into five different districts and parceled it out to Northern Virginia Democrats to use to make their numbers work,» he said, adding that the referendum is offensive to Virginia farmers in particular.
In separate comments to «Ruthless», Cline expounded on that point, saying the people of his current district stand to lose their voice because they will be split into five «spaghetti strands» originating from Arlington and Fairfax.
«But we’re optimistic we’re going to be able to stop the governor in her tracks,» he said.
OBAMA URGES VIRGINIANS TO VOTE YES ON REDISTRICTING MEASURE THAT COULD GIVE DEMOCRATS 4 MORE HOUSE SEATS
«They’ve pulled her ad from even running, yeah, because she’s so unpopular,» he said.
Spanberger had been featured in a multi-million-dollar advertising campaign encouraging voters to support the redistricting referendum, but the Virginia Scope reported that ad was recently pulled from circulation.
«[The situation] slid south for her and that’s what happens when you play bait-and-switch with the voters,» Cline said.
However, the Vote YES campaign denied Cline’s characterization in a statement to Fox News Digital.
«This is false,» the campaign said. «We’re running a strong statewide campaign featuring a range of voices — including Governor Spanberger. This election is about stopping Trump’s power grab and leveling the playing field — and that’s exactly what a YES vote does.»
In his remarks to «Ruthless,» Cline also cited the fact several Fairfax-area Democrats are already launching bids for the yet-unconfirmed «lobster»-shaped redrawn seat that is the most prominent slice of his district.
VIRGINIA CONGRESSMAN SAYS SPANBERGER WANTS TO ‘TURN US INTO NEW ENGLAND’
«I didn’t think Dan Helmer could find Shenandoah Valley on a map, but yet he’s going to be campaigning and asking for votes [here],» he said of the far-left delegate from Fairfax who helped spearhead the redistricting effort itself.
Helmer, a combat veteran, also crafted the commonwealth’s sweeping gun control bill lambasted as a «gun grab.»
«You have a leader in the Virginia House of Delegates, on the Democratic side, who crafts maps for his benefit… They’re enacting laws to help them get elected to Congress, not enacting laws to help Virginians get ahead» Del. Joe McNamara, R-Roanoke, told the Virginia Mercury of Helmer’s position.
When asked about Cline and others criticizing his decision to run in the redistricted district, Helmer told Fox News Digital that as the Virginia House Democrats’ campaign chair, he already succeeded in such rural areas.
«I’ve campaigned in every corner of this district — from Rockingham to Louisa, Arlington to Powhatan. Because of those efforts, 14 MAGA Republicans [in the state legislature] are now unemployed and doom scrolling LinkedIn instead of harming Virginia families — and this November, we’re going to add Ben Cline to that list,» Helmer said.
Several other Democrats including former first lady Dorothy McAuliffe and JP Cooney — an ex-aide to Jack Smith — are also running there.
Turning to the new maps, only Rep. Morgan Griffith’s district stands to remain Republican.
House Minority Leader Terry Kilgore, R-Gate City, represents much of that district in Richmond and has joined barnstorming efforts by Youngkin and former Attorney General Jason Miyares across his far southwestern district.
Youngkin’s 2021 victory was pegged in-part to Republicans running up the score in albeit sparsely populated counties like Wise, Scott, Dickenson and Lee, and the same strategy appeared afoot in the closing weeks of early voting.
DAVID MARCUS: RICH MEN NORTH OF RICHMOND SET TO STEAL THE VOTES OF RURAL VIRGI
In Dickenson County, home to late music legend Ralph Stanley, Kilgore recently joined local leaders to call for a surge to the polls.
«We just want everybody to vote ‘No’,» he said, as state Sen. Todd Pillion, R-Bristol, reported 500 people had already early voted in the sparse county that day.
«We can win this,» Kilgore said. «We do not want Fairfax County controlling our congressional districts and we want to protect rural Virginia.»
At the other end of the commonwealth, where another rural region is set to be sliced up and attached to Fairfax, Rep. Rob Wittman of the Northern Neck echoed concerns similar to Cline’s.
«Governor Spanberger said it clearly: ‘I have no plans to redistrict Virginia’. But now, Richmond politicians are pushing a referendum to do exactly that—redraw congressional maps in the middle of the decade,» Wittman said.
«A 10-1 map would erase millions of voices – that’s not representation; that’s partisan gerrymandering,» he said.
Tazewell County Circuit Court Judge Jack Hurley — who issued an injunction against the referendum until the state Supreme Court stepped in — also led criticism of the term «restore fairness» being used on the ballot as the official description of what voting yes would do.
Hurley said the language was unconstitutionally misleading and that «[it] would lead a voter to believe he or she were doing something unfair by voting against the proposed amendment.»
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While the higher court mooted whether the election could move forward, filings from plaintiffs and defendants on the merits of the case are due Thursday – when the bench will ultimately decide whether to undo any prospective passage of the referendum.
Fox News Digital reached out to Spanberger, Helmer and Virginians for Fair Elections for comment.
democrats elections, abigail spanberger, governors, virginia, republicans elections
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