The commander of asymmetric warfare
Ahmad Vahidi and Iran’s asymmetric warfare doctrine amid renewed Iran-Israel conflict
- The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps functions as Iran’s parallel military-security institution and has been central to external coercion and internal control.
- The Quds Force is the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps arm associated with external operations and regional partner networks.
- The Strait of Hormuz is a strategic maritime chokepoint through which Iran can signal coercive pressure in a crisis.
What happened
Ahmad Vahidi has been profiled as one of Iran’s most consequential security figures, with his career tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), intelligence work, external operations, and Iran’s regional proxy network. The profile says he was appointed deputy commander of the IRGC in December 2025 after the June 2025 Iran-Israel war, and later became IRGC commander-in-chief after the killing of Mohammad Pakpour and other senior figures in a new U.S.-Israeli war that began on February 28.
The profile argues that Vahidi’s immediate task is to keep Iran intact, preserve state endurance, and deny any clear enemy victory through asymmetric warfare and pressure around the Strait of Hormuz.
UPSC may frame Ahmad Vahidi’s profile as a case study in how Iran uses the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, external networks, sanctions-era militarisation, and maritime pressure in the Strait of Hormuz to sustain deterrence under conflict.
