Appointed by Khamenei/ Who is the second most powerful man in Iran?

2026-04-29 22:19:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Since the assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on the first day of the war against Iran, there has been no power vacuum in Tehran. Khamenei's son, Mojtaba, may have been elected supreme leader, but for nearly two months the reins of Iranian leadership have fallen to the new head of the Revolutionary Guard, Ahmad Vahidi.

Brigadier General Vahidi is a senior Iranian military and political figure who was recently appointed commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), one of the most powerful institutions in Iran, following the deaths of several senior commanders during the war with Israel and the US.

Vahid joined the Revolutionary Guards shortly after the Iranian Revolution in 1979. During the 1980s, he rose through the ranks of the corps, holding positions in intelligence and military leadership.

Iranian state media reports that he commanded the corps' foreign operations branch, the Quds Force, from 1988 to 1997. In December 2025, Ali Khamenei appointed Vahid deputy commander of the Revolutionary Guard, placing him in a central role in preparing Iran's forces for potential conflict.

Unlike some previous corps commanders, Vahidi has also held important political positions in the Iranian government. He was defense minister under former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and later became interior minister in the government of President Ebrahim Raisi.

His experience in both military and political institutions is said to have given him strong influence over Iran's security establishment, meaning that from a governmental perspective, the Iranian leadership is gradually transforming from a theocracy to a militarism.

Vahid has also been the subject of international controversy. In the late 2000s, Interpol issued an international arrest warrant for him at the request of Argentina for alleged involvement in the 1994 bombing of the Jewish Community Center, which killed 85 people. Iranian officials denied any involvement in the attack./CNA