Amid mounting pressures, Iran installs Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi as Commander-in-Chief of the IRGC. Media in Tehran broke the news Sunday, responding to blows from Israel’s Operation Roaring Lion that felled General Mohammad Pakpour and peers.
Vahidi, no stranger to high office with prior Defense and Interior roles, served provisionally for half a year before this elevation. The timing reflects efforts to mend fractured leadership after targeted killings rattled the top echelons.
Absent an official nod from authorities, the change addresses gaping holes in Iran’s military framework. The IRGC, Tehran’s elite enforcer, upholds internal order and spearheads extraterritorial influence, crucial to the republic’s ambitions.
Violence spirals further. Al Jazeera details 148 fatalities from a US-Israel raid on Minab’s girls’ school, toll climbing since Saturday. Imagery confirms the site’s civilian status since 2016, separate from any base.
Iran’s reprisals intensify with the IRGC’s sixth assault phase. Heavy missile-drone salvos struck 27 American outposts, Tel Nof airbase, Kirya command in Tel Aviv, and a vital weapons hub nearby.
IRGC statements, via state channels, forewarn of intensified payback. Vahidi’s command could herald bolder tactics, as Iran digs in against perceived existential threats from Israel and the US.