Iran’s Quds Force chief, Esmail Qaani, is reportedly in “good health,” as stated by the force’s deputy commander, Iraj Masjedi, on Monday, according to a report by Reuters.
This announcement came after two Iranian security sources informed the news agency on Sunday that Qaani had lost communication following airstrikes in Beirut the previous week.
“He is in good health and is carrying out his activities. Some ask us to issue a statement… there is no need for this,” Masjedi commented, as cited by Iranian state media, addressing worries over Qaani’s status.
According to the Iranian Students’ News Agency, Qaani communicated a message to a conference in Tehran aimed at supporting Palestinian Arab children on Monday, stating that he was unable to participate “due to his being in another important meeting.”
On Sunday, two high-ranking Iranian security officials conveyed to Reuters that Qaani, who had traveled to Lebanon after the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli airstrike last month, has not been seen since the recent strikes in Beirut.
One official disclosed that Qaani was present in the Dahieh neighborhood of Beirut, a stronghold for Hezbollah, during a strike aimed at senior Hezbollah figure Hashem Safieddine. However, the official emphasized that Qaani was not with Safieddine at that moment.
In 2020, Qaani was appointed as the leader of the Quds Force, succeeding Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a US drone attack near Baghdad’s airport in Iraq.
The Quds Force serves as the international operations division of Iran’s influential Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and is designated as a “foreign terrorist organization” by the US.
{Matzav.com}