Overview
- Diplomats and regional officials say Vahidi persuaded Iran’s Supreme National Security Council to approve the ballistic missile launch that led to the first direct exchange of fire with Israel since the April ceasefire, a move reported on Sunday.
- Vahidi rose to the top of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps after replacing Mohammad Pakpour and is reported to command roughly 200,000 ground forces, giving him direct control over the regime’s most powerful armed unit.
- Sources say Vahidi has pushed a negotiating stance that ties any agreement with Washington to protections for Hezbollah, guarantees for Iran’s missile stockpiles, and access to frozen overseas funds, positions that have stalled a near-term deal.
- Vahidi’s international profile complicates diplomacy because he is subject to U.S. Treasury sanctions for past procurement roles and is wanted by Interpol over the 1994 AMIA bombing in Buenos Aires.
- If hardline demands hold, negotiators warn the pause in talks could deepen economic pain for ordinary Iranians by delaying sanctions relief and raise the risk of wider regional escalation through renewed strikes and tighter control of the Strait of Hormuz.