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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.»
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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.
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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.»
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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
INTERNACIONAL
H5N1 bird flu confirmed in Australia for the first time, meaning virus has now reached every continent
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The first case of H5N1 bird flu has been confirmed in Australia, meaning the virus has now found its way to every continent.
The Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry said the virus was found in a single seabird, a brown skua, near Esperance on the south coast of Western Australia, in Cape Le Grand National Park.
Australia’s Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development said it was «responding as part of a nationally coordinated plan with the Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and stakeholders across [Western Australia] to reduce the impact of this disease.»
The outbreak in the U.S. has left millions of birds dead and has caused grocery store hikes and shortages, most notably with eggs.
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The first case of H5N1 bird flu has been confirmed in Australia, meaning the virus has now found its way to every continent. (Dado Ruvic/Reuters)
The spread to humans is rare.
«We all knew we couldn’t be bird flu-free forever,» Australia’s federal Agricultural Secretary Julie Collins said in a press conference on Saturday.
Jackie Jarvis, Western Australia’s agricultural minister, said in a press conference on Friday: «As a result of WA’s established early detection system, appropriate action was taken, including isolating the bird and collecting samples for testing.»
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She added, «this shows that Australia’s and Western Australia’s preparedness measures have worked. We are pleased to see the surveillance, and reporting system working as intended, with the bird reported through to DPIRD for further investigation.»
A brown skua stands on a mossy stone on Macquarie Island, Sub Antarctic, administered by Tasmania, Australia. (Auscape/Universal Images Group)
By Saturday, Jarvis said further testing confirmed the strain that she said was consistent with bird flu found in the remote Australian territories of Heard Island and McDonald Islands near Antarctica, which devastated the wildlife there.
Last year, around 13,000 of a population of 17,000 elephant seal pups died there in just a few months after being exposed.
The outbreak in the U.S. has left millions of birds dead and has caused grocery store hikes and shortages, most notably with eggs. (Emily Elconin/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The islands are wildlife sanctuaries.
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«Importantly, there have been no detections in poultry and there is no evidence of mass mortality,» Jarvis said of the mainland case.
A second case of another migratory bird is also suspected near Esperance.
Reuters contributed to this report.
bird flu, infectious disease, australia, outbreaks, birds, health, world
INTERNACIONAL
La ayuda humanitaria de Estados Unidos se reparte a cuentagotas por Cuba ante la falta de combustible en la isla
La ayuda humanitaria estadounidense llega a Cuba a través de Cáritas, organización sin fines de lucro católica que actúa como vínculo entre Washington y La Habana, en respuesta al paso del huracán Melissa en 2025 y que, hasta el día de hoy, representa un alivio tangible en un contexto de escasez que afecta a los cubanos.
Después de recibir un paquete con arroz, frijoles y productos de higiene, Teodardo Debardet cruza lentamente el barrio de Hongolosongo en su bicicleta adaptada. El paquete de suministros que recibió Debardet es parte de la distribución de casi la totalidad de los USD 3 millones enviados a principios de año, una fracción de los USD 9 millones prometidos.
En esta pequeña comunidad de Santiago de Cuba, muchos habitantes aún no han conseguido reparar los techos destruidos por el ciclón. Menos de la mitad de las casas tienen electricidad y el acceso al agua corriente es un privilegio para unos pocos.
El huracán Melissa golpeó la isla con vientos de 195 km/h en octubre de 2025, y dejó a su paso a muchas familias sin techo y destruyó servicios básicos. La situación se agrava por el bloqueo petrolero y el endurecimiento de las sanciones económicas.
Washington propuso recientemente una ayuda adicional de USD 100 millones para Cuba: USD 60 millones serían canalizados a través de Cáritas, y el resto por otras organizaciones no gubernamentales. Sin embargo, el régimen cubano aún no ha confirmado si aceptará esta nueva oferta.
En respuesta a la propuesta, el dictador Miguel Díaz-Canel expresó que levantar el embargo estadounidense sería, en sus palabras, “más útil que el envío de ayuda humanitaria”.
La distribución de los paquetes enfrenta retos logísticos importantes. “Se nos hace un poquito difícil porque tenemos que buscar transporte, conseguir combustible, ver quién nos puede acercar hasta allá”, explica Katia Simón, responsable de Cáritas en El Cobre.
Cuando escasean la gasolina y el diésel, los envíos se realizan en carretas de bueyes. La llegada de los lotes, acompañados en ocasiones por consultas médicas, sesiones de peluquería y actividades recreativas para niños, es recibida con gratitud.
Las dificultades para transportar y entregar la ayuda humanitaria persisten en toda la región oeste de Cuba. El desabastecimiento de combustible obliga a buscar alternativas rudimentarias y ralentiza la llegada de insumos básicos para los damnificados. A pesar de las carencias, la asistencia internacional permite paliar algunas necesidades esenciales de las comunidades más aisladas.
“Recibimos muy bien esta ayuda venga de donde venga (…) si es del pueblo de Estados Unidos, está bien”, afirmó Osmany Vedey, de 63 años, reflejando el sentir de muchos vecinos, en diálogo con AFP. Tras el desastre natural, la ayuda internacional llegó también desde organismos como la ONU, la Unión Europea, China, México y Venezuela. Naciones Unicdas continúa su programa de asistencia, aunque enfrenta los mismos obstáculos logísticos para alcanzar a los damnificados.
La falta de combustible también afecta al transporte en la isla. Cuba enfrenta una parálisis casi total del transporte interprovincial tras la entrada en vigor de restricciones severas el jueves. Millones de personas se ven obligadas a depender de los limitados asientos disponibles en trenes y autobuses estatales, reservados únicamente para emergencias médicas, funerales u otras situaciones críticas.
A partir de ahora, los trenes que enlazan La Habana con ciudades del este solo circularán cada 16 días, cuando antes ofrecían tres frecuencias semanales. El servicio de autobuses estatales, que anteriormente realizaba viajes diarios entre la capital y otras provincias, quedará reducido a entre una y tres salidas semanales.
La escasez dejó vacías las estaciones de servicio y convirtió la movilidad cotidiana en un desafío para la población de 9,6 millones de habitantes. Muchos recurren al uso de bicicletas ante la disminución del transporte público.
Los pasajeros que necesiten viajar deberán solicitar sus pasajes con al menos una semana de antelación y se aplicará un sistema de prioridades. El viceministro de Transporte, Luis Ladrón de Guevara, precisó que no será necesario gestionar permisos especiales para realizar estos desplazamientos.
(Con información de AFP)
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INTERNACIONAL
Biden scores temporary court victory as Trump-appointed judge delays release of Hur investigation materials
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Former President Joe Biden has won another three weeks to block the release of audio recordings and transcripts tied to special counsel Robert Hur’s classified documents investigation after a federal judge granted a temporary injunction while a federal appeals court reviews his challenge.
The recordings stem from Biden’s interviews with Mark Zwonitzer, the ghostwriter of his 2017 memoir, «Promise Me, Dad.»
U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich, a Trump appointee, on Friday issued an injunction pending appeal that prevents the Justice Department from releasing the materials while the D.C. Circuit considers the case. The order came just hours after Friedrich denied Biden’s request for a preliminary injunction that would have stopped the release altogether.
The legal battle could determine whether Americans ever hear the recordings that helped shape Hur’s decision not to prosecute Biden over his handling of classified documents. The audio has been the subject of intense scrutiny because Hur raised questions about Biden’s memory in explaining why he declined to bring charges against Biden for mishandling classified documents.
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Although the Justice Department previously released audio from Biden’s interviews with Hur, the recordings at the center of the current legal battle involve separate conversations between Biden and Zwonitzer.
Hur’s 2024 report repeatedly referenced Biden’s recorded conversations with Zwonitzer. The special counsel described some exchanges as «painfully slow» and said Biden at times struggled to recall events and relay information, observations that fueled scrutiny of the Biden’s cognitive abilities during an election year.
Former President Joe Biden speaks to a crowd during a fundraising event with the South Carolina Democratic Party at the Columbia Museum of Art on Feb. 27, 2026, in Columbia, S.C. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
The Heritage Foundation and its Oversight Project director, Mike Howell, have spent more than two years seeking the recordings and transcripts through FOIA requests.
Heritage Foundation officials have argued the public has a strong interest in reviewing the materials referenced throughout Hur’s report, particularly because the special counsel relied on the recordings in explaining his decision not to pursue criminal charges.
Biden has been fighting to keep the potentially embarrassing recordings under wraps.
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After Friedrich denied Biden’s motion for a preliminary injunction Friday, Biden’s legal team immediately sought emergency relief to preserve the status quo while appealing the decision.
In an emergency filing, Biden’s attorneys argued that disclosure would effectively end the case before appellate judges could review the legal questions involved. They maintained that once the recordings are released, any privacy protections would be permanently lost, and the appeal would become largely moot.
Former special counsel Robert K. Hur testifies before the House Judiciary Committee in Washington, D.C., March 12, 2024. Hur investigated President Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents and published a report with conclusions about Biden’s memory. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
The filing also stressed that the FOIA litigation has already been pending for more than two years and argued there was no urgent public need requiring immediate disclosure of conversations that occurred roughly a decade ago between Biden and his ghostwriter. Biden’s attorneys noted that the former president is now a private citizen who neither holds nor is seeking public office.
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The Justice Department initially withheld the recordings and much of the transcript material under several FOIA exemptions. Earlier this year, however, the department reversed course and determined the records could be released with redactions after concluding that significant public interest existed in understanding evidence relied upon by Hur during his investigation.
After the Justice Department announced plans to release the recordings, Biden filed suit in May to stop the disclosure, claiming the audiotapes contain private conversations that should remain protected from public release and, if released, would be in violation of the Privacy Act.
President Joe Biden speaks during an official transition event to thank Ron Klain for his work and to welcome successor Jeff Zients. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)
His legal team argued that the department’s decision violates the Privacy Act and constitutes arbitrary agency action under the Administrative Procedure Act.
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Leading Biden’s legal effort is Amy Jeffress, a partner at Washington-based law firm Hecker Fink and a former Justice Department national security official. Jeffress has served as the primary attorney advancing Biden’s challenge to the release of the materials and signed the recent emergency filing seeking to prevent disclosure while the appeal proceeds.
Jeffress has also drawn attention because she is married to U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper, an Obama appointee who recently ruled against the Trump administration in a high-profile dispute involving the Kennedy Center. Cooper’s ruling prompted criticism from some Trump allies and conservative commentators who pointed to the judge’s family connection to Biden’s attorney, suggesting a conflict of interest may be at play in Cooper’s work.
in court, joe biden, how justice happens, appeals, trials
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