Iran names IRGC chief, appoints jurist to Leadership Council after Khamenei killing
Shafaq News- Tehran
Iran appointed Ahmad Vahidi as commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Sunday following the killing of Maj. Gen. Mohammad Pakpour in recent airstrikes, state media reported.
Vahidi previously served as defense minister under former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and as interior minister in the administration of the late President Ebrahim Raisi. He led the Quds Force from 1988 to 1997 and was named deputy commander-in-chief of the IRGC on December 31, 2025. Born in Shiraz in 1958, he holds a doctorate in strategic sciences and has held senior military and government roles. He is under US sanctions over allegations linked to the suppression of the 2022 nationwide protests.
Separately, ISNA reported that Alireza Arafi was appointed as the jurist member of Iran’s temporary Leadership Council, the body tasked with assuming the supreme leader’s responsibilities until the Assembly of Experts selects a successor. Arafi, a cleric and member of the Guardian Council, will serve alongside President Masoud Pezeshkian and Chief Justice Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei.
Earlier, US and Israeli missile strikes killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The attack also claimed the lives of several senior officers, including IRGC commander Mohammad Pakpour, amid rapidly escalating tensions between Tehran, Israel, and Washington.
