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Ahmad Shah Cheraghi (Persian: احمد وحیدی, born 27 June 1958), better known as Ahmad Vahidi,[2] is an Iranian military commander of the Revolutionary Guards and former Minister of Interior from 2021 to 2024. He is currently member of the Expediency Discernment Council.[3]
Ahmad Vahidi | |
|---|---|
.jpeg) Vahidi in 2022 | |
| Native name | احمد شاهچراغی |
| Allegiance | Iran |
| Service | Revolutionary Guards |
| Years of service | 1980–2021 |
| Rank | Brigadier general |
| Commands | Quds Force[1] |
| Battles / wars | Iran–Iraq War |
| Minister of Interior | |
| In office 25 August 2021 – 21 August 2024 | |
| President | Ebrahim Raisi Mohammad Mokhber (acting) Masoud Pezeshkian |
| Preceded by | Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli |
| Succeeded by | Eskandar Momeni |
| Member of Expediency Discernment Council | |
| Assumed office 14 March 2012 | |
| Appointed by | Ali Khamenei |
| Chairman | Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani Ali Movahedi-Kermani (Acting) Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi Sadeq Larijani |
| Minister of Defence | |
| In office 3 September 2009 – 15 August 2013 | |
| President | Mahmoud Ahmadinejad |
| Preceded by | Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar |
| Succeeded by | Hossein Dehghan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Ahmad Shahcheraghi 27 June 1958 Shiraz, Iran |
In 1988, he was appointed commander of its extraterritorial special forces, Quds Force.[4] He was the minister of defense under Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, having held the post from 3 September 2009 until 15 August 2013. Vahidi was formerly president of the Supreme National Defense University from August 2016 to 2021.[5]
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Ahmad Shah Cheraghi was born on 27 June 1958 in Shiraz.[6] He holds a bachelor's degree in electronics and a master's degree in industrial engineering.[6] He acquired a doctorate in strategic studies from Imam Sadegh University.[7]
Vahidi joined Revolutionary Guards in 1979.[6] He was made deputy to the then Revolutionary Guards commander Mohsen Rezai for intelligence affairs in 1981.[6] The same year, he was also named commander of the Balaal base.[6] In 1983, he joined the Quds Force, a unit of the Revolutionary Guards that is responsible for operations outside of Iran.[6] He holds the rank of brigadier general.[8]
Vahidi was appointed deputy minister of defense in 2005 when Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar became minister of defense.[7] He was in office until 2009. In August 2009, he was appointed minister of defense by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He received 79.3% of the votes of the members of the parliament. Vahidi's term ended on 15 August 2013 and Hossein Dehghan replaced him in the post.[9]
Controversies
Vahidi has been wanted by Interpol since 2007 for his alleged participation in the bombing of the Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 18 July 1994, in which 85 people died.[10][11] Vahidi was serving as the commander of a special unit of Iran's Revolutionary Guard known as the Quds Force when the attack occurred.[10] He is one of five Iranians sought in the bombing. Iran denies that it was involved.[12]
In June 2010, Vahidi was blacklisted by the U.S Government. This measure aims to freeze the assets of proliferators of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and their supporters, thereby isolating them from the U.S. financial and commercial systems.[13]
In May 2011, Vahidi paid an official visit to Bolivia.[14] Upon this event in June 2011, Bolivia apologized to Argentina for Ahmad Vahidi visiting the country, and announced that he would be leaving the country immediately.[15]
In August 2021, Vahidi was made Interior Minister by the then-newly elected president Ebrahim Raisi. This triggered condemnation from Argentina given his suspected role in the 1994 AMIA bombing, with the now-former head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship describing the appointment of Vahidi as "an insult to Argentina and a blow to the families of the victims" of the bombing.[16] The Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles, California also issued a statement calling the appointment a setback for the families of the attack victims.
In April 2024 Argentina's criminal court (Court of Cassation) ruled that the attack had been planned by Iran and carried out bye the Iran-backed organization Hezbollah.[17] In May 2024 the Argentine Foreign Ministry officially announced that Interpol had issued a red notice for the arrest of Vahidi in connection with the 1994 AMIA bombing. This red notice states that Vahidi is being sought by Argentina for charges of alleged aggravated murder and damages.[18]
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