Iranian state media reported that the chief of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Ahmad Vahidi, has made a rare public appearance in Tehran.
Iranian media broadcast footage showing Vahidi paying his respects before Ali Khamenei during a state-organised memorial event. Figures close to the Iranian regime also posted images of the appearance on social media.
The appearance comes after a prolonged period in which he had largely stayed out of public view amid heightened regional tensions and growing security concerns surrounding senior Iranian military figures.
Vahidi’s low profile has been widely interpreted as a precautionary measure, particularly following a series of targeted killings of senior Iranian security officials in recent years, most notably the assassination of Qassem Soleimani, former commander of the IRGC’s Quds Force, in a U.S. strike in 2020. Analysts have previously noted that senior Iranian military figures often reduce their public visibility during periods of escalation with Israel and the United States.
