Esmail Qaani, commander of the Quds Pressure of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), reportedly disappeared after Israeli airstrikes in Beirut on Friday. Whereas Iranian media have remained silent about his whereabouts, some Turkish and Israeli media shops have claimed that Qaani could possibly be useless.
Israeli airstrikes within the southern Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh had been reportedly aimed toward Hashem Safieddine, the successor to slain Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. Safieddine has additionally reportedly been unreachable. after the strikes.
In line with Israeli information outlet N12, the Iranian brigadier normal was current in Dahiyeh on the time and should have been injured within the Israeli assault. One other Israeli media outlet, Channel 12, said that Lebanese authorities confirmed Qaani’s demise, though the Israel Protection Forces (IDF) haven’t claimed accountability for the killing of the Iranian commander.
Some stories additionally speculated that Qaani could have been positioned underneath elevated surveillance as a consequence of worry of Israeli operations following Iran’s missile assaults on October 1. Some Saudi information channels even prompt that Qaani may have been executed by Iran on suspicion of collaborating with the Mossad, the spy company.
Qaani’s absence was highlighted throughout Friday prayers led by Iran’s Supreme Court docket, Ali Khamenei. In line with a New York Occasions report, Qaani had traveled to Beirut to fulfill with Hezbollah officers amid Israeli assaults in Lebanon.
WHO IS ESMAIL QAANI?
Esmail Qaani succeeded Qassem Soleimani as Iran’s overseas operations chief. Soleimani was killed in January 2020 in a US drone strike close to Baghdad Worldwide Airport in Iraq.
After Soleimani’s assassination, Qaani performed a pivotal function in shaping Iran’s army technique within the area. Earlier than assuming command of the Quds Pressure, Qaani held positions within the counterintelligence unit and led drug operations in Afghanistan and Iran.
