Two weeks ago, Ebrahim Raisi’s candidates for minister roles in his administration had been approved by the Iranian regime’s parliament. Thieves and terrorists make up the entire cabinet, but Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi is the most questionable appointee, considering that he is wanted by Interpol for his terrorism involvement.
Ahmad Vahidi was born in June 1958. His birth name is Ahmad Shah Cheraghi. He has been one of the top commanders of the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) for much of his career. In 1988, when the IRGC’s Quds Force was formed, Vahidi became its first commander.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is comprised of four forces. The Quds Force is the most notable. They usually operate outside of Iran, but in times of crisis, they are the ones usually brought in to suppress uprisings.
The other forces of the IRGC include the Ground forces, commanded by IRGC Brigadier General Mohammad Pakpour, the Air Force under the command of IRGC Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, and the Navy with IRGC Brigadier General Alireza Tangsiri at the helm.
This isn’t the first time that Vahidi has held a ministerial position. He was previously the Minister of Defence under Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s administration. In the 1980s, he was one of the officials that helped to found the IRGC’s Intelligence unit.
In 1981, when Rezaei became the IRGC commander, Vahidi became his deputy in charge of the IRGC Intelligence unit. Vahidi particularly focused on organizing the regime’s terrorist activities abroad and supporting the mullahs’ proxy groups.
Mohsen Rezaei once said that the goal of the Quds Force is to form an ‘Islamic International Army’. They have played a key role in political assassinations abroad since their founding, and Vahidi oversaw many of these terrorist acts until 1997.
One such attack took place in Argentina in 1994. July 18 of that year saw a huge truck bomb being detonated outside a Jewish center in Buenos Aires, killing 85 people and injuring over 200. A month later, the Iranian Resistance revealed that the IRGC was behind the bombing and that other regime agencies were involved also.
In 2006, Argentinian federal government prosecutors officially filed a lawsuit against the perpetrators of this attack, including Ahmad Vahidi. Argentine prosecutor Alberto Nisman, who was investigating the AMIA bombing, underlined that Vahidi was involved in planning and carrying out the operation. Nisman was assassinated in his home before going to court.
After Ebrahim Raisi was appointed as the regime’s new president, Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary-General, said the fact, “that Ebrahim Raisi has risen to the presidency instead of being investigated for the crimes against humanity of murder, enforced disappearance, and torture, is a grim reminder that impunity reigns supreme in Iran.”
Raisi, himself, is most notable for his role in the 1988 massacre, which saw the executions of 30,000 political prisoners ordered by then-Supreme Leader, Ruhollah Khomeini.
This cabinet once again shows the regime in Iran is dedicated to human rights violations inside Iran and the export of terrorism abroad. Raisi and his ministers, such as Vahidi, should not be welcomed by world powers but should be tried for crimes against humanity.
