Breaking News! There are reports claiming that Ahmad Vahidi, the Commander-in-Chief of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), has been killed! On July 13, according to foreign media reports, multiple unverified sources claimed that the United States carried out two major strikes against the IRGC headquarters in Tehran and an underground missile base, during which IRGC leader Ahmad Vahidi was reportedly eliminated.
It must be said that if these reports are true, this would represent a significant loss for Iran. According to available information, Vahidi officially assumed command of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in March 2026, becoming the country’s de facto highest military authority. He oversees Iran’s missile forces, underground missile facilities, the Quds Force, and intelligence networks—his power far surpassing that of Iran’s regular armed forces. In Iranian political circles, he is considered a veteran figure across military, political, and intelligence spheres. He joined the Revolutionary Guard shortly after the 1979 Iranian Revolution and served as the first commander of the elite Quds Force.
Suleimani was his successor, who single-handedly built Iran’s network of proxies across the Middle East. Having served as Minister of Defense and Minister of Interior, he has operated across military, intelligence, and political domains for years, remaining on top U.S. and Israeli assassination blacklists. On February 28, following a large-scale joint air strike by the U.S. and Israel on Iran, the then-IRGC Commander Pakpour and former Commander Sarami were both assassinated in succession. Vahidi was appointed under emergency circumstances to take command, after which he went into prolonged concealment.
The last time Vahidi appeared publicly was on the evening of July 2, when he attended the funeral of Ayatollah Khamenei. At the ceremony, Vahidi wore a dark suit adorned with an IRGC insignia, seated at a central position beside Khamenei’s coffin, personally touching the casket in mourning while facing global media cameras. On July 3, he led senior leadership of the entire Iranian military to attend the national farewell funeral ceremony at Imam Khomeini Grand Mosque. It is highly likely that these two public appearances made him a prime target for surveillance by U.S. and Israeli intelligence agencies. Of course, whether he is truly dead remains to be confirmed by further evidence.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1870582474994906/
Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author.