Three Commanders in 360 Days: The IRGC Succession

In 360 days, the IRGC lost three commanders-in-chief. Two were killed. The third has been under an Interpol Red Notice since 2007. June 13, 2025 (the Twelve-Day War): Israel struck IRGC headquarters in Tehran. Hossein Salami, commander-in-chief, was killed. Same day, Mohammad Pakpour — for years the IRGC Ground Forces commander, a specialist in crushing ethnic uprisings in Kurdistan, Sistan, and Baluchestan — replaced him. Khamenei picked the safest loyalist available. February 28, 2026: Pakpour was killed in an Israeli strike. Less than nine months in the chair. No big war between the two strikes. No international shock. No change in IRGC behavior. Ahmad Vahidi — first commander of the Quds Force in the 1990s, defense minister under Ahmadinejad, interior minister under Raisi (2021-2024). Under an Interpol Red Notice since November 7, 2007. The reason: his role in the July 18, 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires — 85 killed, 300 wounded. Argentina's Federal Criminal Court of Cassation, in its 407-page ruling of April 12, 2024, named Vahidi as the "principal architect." The Red Notice was reaffirmed in May 2024. Vahidi is also named in the US indictment for the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia (19 US servicemembers killed, 372 wounded). Per an Institute for the Study of War report, April 20, 2026, he is the only man with direct access to Mojtaba Khamenei — effectively running the system. Salami escaped the dock. Pakpour did too. The IRGC is now run by an Interpol fugitive. This is not a promotion. It is an admission — Khamenei wants the hardest option on the board. The AMIA file is open. The PS752 file is open. The Aban file is open. The names of the victims do not close in any archive.