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.
