Iran’s elusive Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps chief surfaced publicly for the first time in months, appearing in mourning beside the coffin of assassinated former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Gen. Ahmad Vahidi — sanctioned by the United States and accused of links to terrorism overseas — was photographed Thursday placing his hands on Khamenei’s casket as Tehran readied a multi-day funeral for the late ruler, according to images shared online by Iranian state media.
Vahidi reappeared to take part in funeral preparations for Khamenei, as well as a smaller ceremony held before Iran’s 40-day period of national mourning begins Saturday.
He had not been seen in public since Feb. 8 — three weeks before Ayatollah Khamenei and multiple IRGC figures, including Vahidi’s predecessor Mohammad Pakpour, were killed on Feb. 28, the opening day of Operation Epic Fury.
Out of public view, Vahidi — wanted by Interpol in connection with the 1994 bombing of the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina Jewish community center in Buenos Aires — has reportedly played a central role in shaping the Islamic Republic’s hardline position on ending the four-month conflict.
In May, he asserted that Iran had prevailed after what he called the “terrorist attack of the Zionist-American enemy,” claiming Washington had been forced into a cease-fire “in humiliation,” according to the semi-official Tasnim News Agency.
“Any renewed aggression by the enemy will be met with a devastating and hellish response on regional and trans-regional scales,” he warned.
Vahidi, who replaced Pakpour as IRGC chief, is believed to belong to a tight inner circle exerting influence over the gravely wounded Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei.
“He is influential but [he is] part of a system,” Ali Vaez, the Iran project director at the International Crisis Group, told CNN.
“Decisions are made in a consensual manner and undoubtedly Vahidi has a very loud voice in the room.”
“You cannot agree on something without passing him,” Danny Citrinowicz, the ex-head of the Iran branch of Israel’s military intelligence, told CNN.
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Vahidi, 67, joined the IRGC after the 1979 Revolution before becoming commander of Iran’s elite Quds Force in the late 1980s, building up Iran’s influence across the Middle East before handing the reins to terror mastermind Qasem Soleimani.
He and Soleimani have often been credited with laying the groundwork for Iran’s terror proxies to bloom abroad, including the Hezbollah terrorist group in Lebanon.
Vahidi was among nine top Hezbollah and Iranian officials accused of helping orchestrate the bombing of the Jewish community center – that killed 85 people and injured over 300.
It marked the deadliest antisemitic attack in the Western Hemisphere since World War 2.
Interpol issued a red notice against Vahidi, urging law enforcement entities around the world to find and arrest him, making the IRGC commander an internationally wanted terrorist.
Along with the infamous 1994 bombing, Argentine investigators have linked Vahidi to the 1992 bombing of the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires.
US investigators also suspect Vahidi helped organize the 1996 Khobar Tower bombing in Saudi Arabia, which saw 19 service members killed.
Vahidi was also hit by sanctions in the US for his links to Iran’s nuclear and missile programs.
He faced a second wave of sanctions in 2022 after Iran’s brutal crackdown on protesters over the death of Mahsa Amini.
The European Union also hit Vahidi with sanctions in 2022 for the regime’s use of live ammunition in the protests, which left nearly 500 people dead, according to human rights groups.
“He is a wanted man,” Citrinowicz said. “He’s a guy to be reckoned with.”
With Post wires.
