A hard-headed Iranian versus a US admiral. The fate of the Middle East depends on them
Meaning that Wahidi faces American Admiral Brad Cooperheading the United States Central Command (Centcom). We present the profiles of the two most important figures of the war in the Middle East.
Hardliner wanted by Interpol
Ahmad Wahidi was born in 1958 in Shiraz. He studied electronics and obtained a PhD in economic engineering. His real name is Shah Czeraghi, but he has been using the fighting pseudonym Wahidi since the 1980s.
Since 1979, Wahidi has been a key figure in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. In 1988, he became the first commander of the Al-Quds unit. This elite brigade of Sentinels acts as an intelligence servicetracking down terrorist targets for ayatollahs around the world – primarily Jewish and American facilities.
Firefighters and police are searching for the injured after a bomb exploded at the headquarters of the Argentine-Israeli Mutual Aid Association. Buenos Aires, July 18, 1994ALI BURAFI / AFP
In 2009–2013 he was Minister of Defense. Until 2024, he served as Minister of Interior and headed the regime's law enforcement agencies. This means that the Revolutionary Guard Corps is now headed by a man who has managed to entrench himself in Iran's military apparatus of power for years.
“We have to be ready every day.”
Charles Bradford Cooper II, known as Brad Cooper, has been heading the United States Central Command (Centcom) in Tampa, Florida since August 2025.
Cooper is the second Navy official to lead Centcom. The admiral is considered a strong critic of the Iranian regime and a supporter of Israelhowever, he remains reserved in public and rarely gives interviews. In the US Senate, he warned against Iran's “significant tactical capabilities” and emphasized: – We must be ready every day.
The goal of Cooper and his military is clear: they want to destroy the weapons arsenal of the ayatollah regime.
– We are on the right track, to completely eliminate Iran's entire military production apparatus – the admiral stated late last week in a recording published on the X platform (formerly Twitter).
“We will see this through to the end”
US President Donald Trump announces the imminent end of the operation in Iran talks openly about the rapid withdrawal of troops.
Responding to questions about rising fuel prices, he said in the Oval Office: “All I have to do is withdraw from Iran, and we will do it very quickly, and then they will collapse.”
