Iran’s Supreme Leader has appointed Ahmad Vahidi as deputy commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), replacing Ali Fadavi, who was moved to head an advisory group under the IRGC commander.
The decree, issued in Vahidi’s former name Vahid Shahcheraghi and read out at a handover ceremony, said the appointment was made following a proposal by the IRGC commander. Senior Guards commanders and military officials attended the event.
Vahidi has been implicated by Argentine prosecutors in the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, which killed 85 people.
At the time, Vahidi was the head of the Quds Force, the external operations branch of Iran's sprawling paramilitary organization the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Interpol said in a 2009 statement that a red notice for Vahidi was issued in November 2007 at Argentina’s request, adding that a red notice is not an international arrest warrant and that any decision to detain an individual rests with national authorities.
Argentina’s foreign ministry said in April 2024 that it wanted Vahidi arrested in connection with the AMIA case when he traveled abroad as part of an Iranian delegation. Iran has repeatedly rejected allegations of involvement in the attack.
The United States has sanctioned Vahidi for his role in Iran’s suppression of protests, including the use of lethal force by security services during demonstrations sparked by the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini.
The Treasury Department said Vahidi oversaw law enforcement agencies involved in serious human rights abuses and had earlier been sanctioned over alleged links to Iran’s nuclear and weapons programs.
Iranian media have described Vahidi as a veteran Guards commander who held senior posts spanning the IRGC’s intelligence and overseas operations and later served in cabinet roles, including as defense minister and interior minister.
In a statement, the ministry said Canada’s move violated international law by branding an official branch of Iran’s armed forces as “terrorist,” and said the new designation was a reciprocal response.
Canada listed the IRGC under its Criminal Code in June 2024, a step Ottawa said was aimed at curbing alleged Iranian influence operations and holding Tehran to account over security and human-rights concerns.
The exchange adds to long-running tensions between the two countries. Canada has imposed multiple rounds of sanctions on Iranian officials in recent years and has cited the IRGC’s role in domestic repression as part of its rationale.
Canada severed diplomatic ties with Iran in 2012 and closed its embassy in Tehran, leaving the two countries without formal diplomatic relations.
“We believe it is necessary to develop a dialogue with Iran,” the Kremlin said, urging parties “to refrain from escalation” after President Donald Trump warned Tehran against rebuilding missile and nuclear capabilities.
Trump, speaking Monday alongside Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Florida, said the US would hit Iran hard if it recovers militarily from the June war and that he would back possible Israeli strikes if Iran continues missile development.
Asked about support for strikes, Trump said: “If they will continue with the missiles, yes… The nuclear… absolutely.”
"I hope Iran is not trying to build up, as I've been reading, that they're building up weapons and other things. And if they are, they're not using the sites that we obliterated, but they're using possibly different sites. We know exactly where they're going, what they're doing, and I hope they're not doing it, because we don't want to waste the fuel on B-2, it's a 37-hour trip both ways. I don't want to waste a lot of fuel," he said.
The United States held five rounds of negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program earlier this year, for which Trump set a 60-day deadline.
When no agreement was reached by the 61st day on June 13, Israel launched a surprise military offensive followed by US strikes on June 22 targeting key nuclear facilities in Isfahan, Natanz and Fordow.
The attacks killed nuclear scientists along with hundreds of military personnel and civilians. Iranian counterattacks killed 32 Israeli civilians and an off-duty soldier.
Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons and says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has said dealing with Trump is beneath the dignity of the Islamic Republic, while Iranian officials have rejected US demands to end uranium enrichment and curb missile capabilities.
