This Hard-line Iranian General Is A Major Player In Talks With Us Over War

As negotiations pinch nan United States bent successful nan balance, a hard-line Iranian wide linked to notorious attacks astatine location and overseas complete nan past decades is believed to person seized a spot adjacent nan halfway of power.

Brig. Gen. Ahmad Vahidi, who heads Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, has go a awesome subordinate successful formulating Iran’s reliable stance successful negotiating a imaginable extremity to nan warfare pinch nan United States, experts say. He is believed to beryllium portion of a mini clique successful nonstop interaction pinch Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khameini, who remains successful hiding aft being reportedly wounded successful nan Feb. 28 Israeli strikes that killed his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Like everything successful Iran since nan warfare began, who yet controls decision-making remains uncertain. As group wrong nan precocious ranks of Iran's theocracy vie for power, they tin summation aliases suffer favour quickly. Vahidi himself wasn't seen publically for months aft Feb. 8, weeks earlier nan warfare began, until Thursday, erstwhile Iranian newspapers carried images of nan wide gathering pinch Pakistan's interior curate successful Tehran, who carried a connection regarding negotiations pinch nan U.S.

A longtime seasoned of nan ruling system, Vahidi helped style Iran’s support of militant groups crossed nan region, is accused of a domiciled successful nan 1994 bombing of a Jewish halfway successful Argentina, and successful 2022 led home information forces successful a bloody crackdown connected protesters.

Elevated to Guard commandant this twelvemonth aft his predecessor was killed early successful nan war, he leads nan astir powerful unit successful Iran, pinch its arsenal of ballistic missiles and its fleet of mini boats threatening Persian Gulf shipping.

“Vahidi and members of his soul circle person apt consolidated power complete not only Iran’s subject consequence successful nan conflict but besides Iran’s negotiations policy,” nan Washington-based Institute for nan Study of War said.

Iran’s warfare strategy has been to support a stranglehold connected nan Strait of Hormuz, blocking lipid and state exports and causing a world power crisis. At nan aforesaid time, it has struck difficult against lipid facilities, hotels and infrastructure successful Gulf Arab nations.

In negotiations, it has held retired against U.S. demands that it surrender its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, betting that it tin outlast nan U.S. successful nan ongoing standoff and that President Donald Trump will beryllium reluctant to resume outright warfare that could bring greater harm to America’s Gulf allies.

That apt reflects Vahidi’s confrontational style. “He comes from that mindset of unending revolution, unending resistance,” said Kenneth Katzman, a elder chap astatine nan The Soufan Group, a New York-based deliberation tank. Vahidi believes “the U.S. needs to beryllium challenged astatine each turn,” said Katzman, a elder Iran master who advised nan U.S. Congress for complete 30 years.

Vahidi boasted successful January that Iran’s defense powerfulness has developed to make it a “high consequence for immoderate subject action by an enemy.”

Vahidi now a focal constituent successful talks

Pakistan hosted talks successful April betwixt an Iranian delegation led by parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf and an American 1 headed by U.S. Vice President JD Vance. But it ended without immoderate deal.

Qalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi returned location to look disapproval from wrong nan theocracy suggesting they were excessively consenting to make concessions. Qalibaf had to insist publically that nan talks had nan support of nan ultimate leader.

Since then, Vahidi has go nan main constituent of interaction for those negotiating pinch Iran, said a location charismatic pinch nonstop knowledge of nan mediation. The charismatic said connected information of anonymity to talk nan delicate diplomacy.

The utmost seclusion and chartless information of nan ultimate leader person fueled speculation astir jockeying among leaders for entree to Khamenei and power complete him. In early May, President Masoud Pezeshkian, who galore spot arsenic sidelined from power by nan Guard, went retired of his measurement to opportunity he “got to spot our beloved leader” and said to him for astir 2 hours.

But Holly Dagres, a elder chap astatine nan Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said it’s apt nan caller ultimate leader “is successful lockstep pinch a much hard-line (Guard) — akin to his father, but successful a much emboldened and uncompromising form.”

Analyst Kamran Bokhari wrote that figures for illustration Vahidi “are not conscionable managing warfare — they are actively reshaping succession, consolidating authority astir a weakened ultimate leader, and efficaciously ‘capturing’ nan authorities done situation governance.”

Vahidi forged by years starring Quds Force

Born Ahmad Shahcheraghi successful Iran’s confederate metropolis of Shiraz successful 1958, Vahidi for illustration galore young men aft nan 1979 gyration joined nan Revolutionary Guard and fought against nan penetration by Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein that sparked a bloody, eight-year war.

Vahidi entered nan Guard’s nascent intelligence limb and soon was overseeing operations extracurricular Iran. He gained nan favour of powerful patrons, including Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a later president. Rafsanjani said successful his autobiography that Vahidi was progressive successful nan 1980s Iran-Contra scandal, successful which nan Reagan management sold weapons to Tehran successful an effort to free hostages held by Iranian-backed militants successful Lebanon. The U.S. later utilized nan money from those income to money Contra rebels successful Nicaragua.

Rafsanjani later intervened to protect Vahidi erstwhile then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini sought to prosecute members of nan Guard who grounded to extremity an incursion by equipped fighters from an Iranian exile group successful nan precocious 1980s during nan war.

Around this time, Vahidi took complete nan recently formed Quds, aliases Jerusalem, Force. Over decades, nan Quds Force helped create a web of proxy militant groups and allied governments astir nan Middle East. The Quds Force nether Vahidi helped mastermind nan 1994 bombing targeting Argentina’s largest Jewish organization center, sidesplitting 85 group and wounding 300 others, prosecutors say. Iran has denied involvement.

American investigators besides judge that nether Vahidi, Iran organized nan 1996 Khobar Towers bombing successful Saudi Arabia, sidesplitting 19 U.S. work members and wounding hundreds. Tehran has denied being progressive successful that onslaught arsenic well.

Vahidi near nan Quds Force successful 1998. In 2010, while he was defense minister, nan United States imposed sanctions connected him complete alleged engagement successful Iran’s atomic programme and its pursuit of weapons of wide destruction.

More recently, arsenic interior minister, Vahidi oversaw constabulary units progressive successful a bloody, monthslong crackdown connected protests complete nan 2022 decease of Mahsa Amini, who died successful constabulary custody aft being arrested for not decently wearing nan mandated headscarf to nan liking of authorities.

An Iranian newspaper later published a classified archive that showed Vahidi’s Interior Ministry ordered information agencies to show and photograph women not wearing nan hijab, thing he had denied was taking place.

At astir that time, Vahidi said successful nationalist comments that calls to region nan hijab were a “colonial plan” by Iran’s enemies trying to undermine nan Islamic Republic. “The hijab has been a large obstruction against nan advancement of effete Western culture,” he said.

Vahidi’s domiciled makes reaching an accord pinch Iran that overmuch much difficult for nan U.S. — arsenic does nan continued obscurity complete Iran’s leadership.

Trump wants a azygous interlocutor successful Iran for negotiations, but "the full strategy has changed,” said Hamidreza Azizi, an Iran master astatine nan Middle East Institute.

“It is not a one-man show. Vahidi is 1 alongside others," Azizi said. "Some we cognize and immoderate we don’t know.”

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Associated Press writers Samy Magdy successful Cairo, Sarah El Deeb successful Beirut, and Amir Vahdat and Nasser Karimi successful Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.