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President Donald Trump urged Wednesday that Iran could also be in search of a ceasefire, however analysts say actual energy lies with hardline figures contained in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, together with newly distinguished Commander Ahmad Vahidi.
Trump didn’t identify the Iranian determine he was referring to, however his remark seemingly pointed to President Masoud Pezeshkian, writing: “Iran’s New Regime President, a lot much less Radicalized and much more clever than his predecessors, has simply requested the US of America for a CEASEFIRE! We are going to contemplate when Hormuz Strait is open, free, and clear. Till then, we’re blasting Iran into oblivion or, as they are saying, again to the Stone Ages!!!”
Consultants warning, nevertheless, that Iran’s president doesn’t management selections of war and peace.
“He clearly doesn’t have the authority to activate or flip off a serious army battle with the US,” Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow on the Basis for Protection of Democracies, informed Fox Information Digital.
TRUMP’S IRAN STRATEGY SHOWCASES ‘DOCTRINE OF UNPREDICTABILITY’ AMID STRIKE THREATS AND SUDDEN PAUSE
Iranian Inside Minister Ahmad Vahidi speaks throughout a press convention after the parliamentary elections in Tehran, Iran, March 4, 2024. (Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia Information Company) by way of Reuters)
As a substitute, analysts say actual energy lies with senior figures tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, together with Vahidi, Parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, and safety official Mohammad Zolghadr, all of whom function inside overlapping facilities of affect.
Consideration is popping to the brand new terror chief seen as an extremist pulling strings, Vahidi — a longtime Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander whose reemergence highlights a broader shift underway inside Iran’s management.
Beni Sabti, an Iran knowledgeable on the Israeli Institute for Nationwide Safety Research, warned that even when Iran alerts curiosity in a “ceasefire,” it might not mirror a Western understanding of the time period.
He pointed to the idea of “hudna,” describing it as “a ceasefire with deception — they cease when they’re weak, rebuild their energy, after which assault once more, whether or not towards Israel or the US.”
Sabti added that such pauses can grow to be “a cycle of violence that doesn’t finish,” pushed by ideological motivations, and shouldn’t be interpreted as a real finish to hostilities.
Ahmad Vahidi, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Pressure, Esmail Qaani, and Iraj Masjedi, Deputy Coordinator of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Pressure, take part in a ceremony to mark the reminiscence of former IRGC commander, Hossein Salami, who’s killed in Israeli assaults, at a mosque in an IRGC organizational home advanced in Tehran, Iran, on July 25, 2025. (Morteza Nikoubazl/Nur Photograph by way of Getty Photos)
From covert operations to international assaults
On the middle of that uncertainty is Vahidi, the brand new Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander.
“He’s a really violent man and belongs to a era that fought in guerrilla warfare,” Sabti informed Fox Information Digital.
Sabti described Vahidi as a part of an early cadre of Iranian operatives who constructed ties with militant groups in Lebanon earlier than and after the 1979 revolution, relationships that later turned central to Iran’s regional technique. Some accounts counsel Vahidi skilled in camps linked to Palestinian and Lebanese factions in southern Lebanon, serving to lay the groundwork for Iran’s long-standing alliance with Lebanon-based terror group Hezbollah.
DESTROY THE REGIME’S POWER WITHOUT OCCUPYING IRAN: A SMARTER WAR PLAN
Iranian Parliament speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf seems on as Parliament members chant in assist of the IRGC whereas carrying army uniforms in Tehran, Iran, Feb 1, 2026. (Hamed Malekpour/Islamic consultative meeting information company/WANA (West Asia Information Company)/Handout by way of Reuters)
Vahidi rose via the ranks of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and went on to function commander of its elite Quds Pressure within the Nineteen Nineties, a unit answerable for abroad operations.
He has been linked to a few of the deadliest assaults attributed to Iranian-backed networks overseas, together with the 1992 bombing of the Israeli Embassy in Argentina and the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish group middle in Buenos Aires.
Sabti stated Vahidi was additionally accused of sustaining connections with al Qaeda figures following the Sept. 11 assaults, reflecting what he described as Iran’s willingness to cooperate with teams concentrating on Western and Israeli pursuits.
Regardless of later holding positions that appeared political or bureaucratic, Sabti stated Vahidi by no means actually stepped away from the Revolutionary Guards, Iran’s highly effective army and intelligence arm, that means his function remained intently tied to the regime’s safety and operational equipment.
“He at all times remained a part of the Revolutionary Guards — even carrying uniform,” he stated. “That’s frequent in Iran. Even after they transfer into politics, they keep inside the drive.”
Sabti additionally pointed to Vahidi’s alleged function in suppressing Kurdish uprisings in northwestern Iran within the aftermath of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, underscoring his longstanding involvement in inner safety operations.
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A composite picture reveals a number of Iranian leaders named within the State Division’s Rewards for Justice program providing as much as $10 million for data on key figures tied to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), together with Mojtaba Khamenei, high left. (State Division / Rewards for Justice; Khoshiran / Center East Photos / AFP by way of Getty Photos)
A system pushed by energy, not place
Vahidi’s renewed prominence comes as Iran’s inner construction seems more and more fragmented, with authority concentrated in overlapping and generally competing networks.
“It’s not clear how coordinated both the army or political actions of the federal government of the Islamic Republic is right this moment,” Ben Taleblu stated.
He described Iran as “a system of males, not a system of legal guidelines,” the place private ties and casual affect usually outweigh formal titles.
That dynamic has intensified as the war continues.
“We’re seeing the IRGC ascendancy… throughout a bunch of Iranian political and safety establishments,” he stated.
“This IRGC ascendancy will imply a extra crass Islamic Republic, but it surely comes at a time when this regime is militarily much less succesful than ever earlier than,” he added.
Extra energy, much less restraint
Sabti stated Vahidi could now be extra influential than different distinguished figures in Tehran, together with parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Supreme Chief Ali Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei.
“For my part, he’s extra dominant proper now, even when they’re coordinated. This isn’t a time for inner competitors,” Sabti stated.
He warned that Vahidi’s rise might further harden Iran’s posture.
“He brings much more radicalization into the system and will not wish to cease the battle, as a result of it serves the pursuits of the Revolutionary Guards to proceed,” Sabti stated.
“They may grow to be masters of the area if the US folds — and that’s very a lot in his curiosity.”
Trump’s suggestion that Iran is in search of a ceasefire has raised hopes of a possible diplomatic opening, however specialists warning that such alerts could not mirror a unified place inside Iran.
“The query is what was shared with President Trump real, or is it wheeling and dealing of only one bold individual?” Ben Taleblu stated.
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Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian attends a press convention in Tehran, Iran, Sep. 16, 2024. (WANA (West Asia Information Company)/Majid Asgaripour by way of Reuters)
“Pezeshkian clearly doesn’t have the authority to activate or flip off a serious army battle with the US,” Ben Taleblu stated.
That leaves open the chance that any outreach might be tactical, fragmented, and even contradictory.
Fox Information Digital reached out to the White Home for remark however didn’t obtain a response in time for publication.
