Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi, commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, has emerged as a key figure in the country's negotiations with the United States over ending their current conflict, according to regional officials and Iran experts.

Vahidi, who was elevated to Guard commander earlier this year after his predecessor was killed in the war, is believed to be part of a small group in direct contact with Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei. The younger Khamenei assumed leadership after his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was reportedly killed in Israeli strikes on February 28.

The 66-year-old general has a decades-long career within Iran's security apparatus. Born Ahmad Shahcheraghi in Shiraz in 1958, he joined the Revolutionary Guard after the 1979 revolution and fought in the Iran-Iraq War. He later led the Guard's Quds Force, which developed Iran's network of regional proxy groups. Argentine prosecutors have accused him of involvement in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people, charges Iran denies.

As interior minister from 2021 to 2024, Vahidi oversaw security forces during the crackdown on protests following the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody. He has faced U.S. sanctions since 2010 over alleged involvement in Iran's nuclear program.

Pakistan hosted talks in April between Iranian and American delegations, but they ended without agreement. Since then, Vahidi has become the main point of contact for negotiations, according to a regional official with knowledge of the mediation. Iran's current war strategy focuses on controlling the Strait of Hormuz and targeting Gulf Arab infrastructure while resisting U.S. demands to surrender its enriched uranium stockpile.

The prominence of hardline military figures like Vahidi in Iran's decision-making reflects the Revolutionary Guard's growing influence amid uncertainty over the country's leadership structure following the elder Khamenei's death.