Iranian Revolutionary Guard Denies Speculations About Quds Force Leader Qaani's Health

Iranian Revolutionary Guard Denies Speculations About Quds Force Leader Qaani's Health
October 9, 2024, 4:16 pm

اسماعيل قاني

Once again, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard is attempting to send reassuring signals regarding the status of Quds Force Commander Ismail Qaani.

On Wednesday, the semi-official news agency Tasnim reported Ibrahim Jabari, advisor to the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, stating that Ismail Qaani, who oversees the Revolutionary Guard's activities abroad, is well and will soon receive a medal from Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. This follows hours after his deputy, Ebrahim Maghdisi, confirmed that Qaani is in good health. However, Qaani’s apology two days ago for not attending the "Seventh International Solidarity Conference with Palestinian Children" in Tehran raised further concerns.

During the conference, the host read a message from Qaani, highlighting that the Quds Force leader sends his regards to all attendees and expresses his regret for not being able to attend due to a "significant meeting," as stated.

This absence, compensated by a somewhat peculiar message, has fueled additional speculation in Iran regarding the fate of this commander, especially as reports have been conflicting about whether he traveled to Lebanon.

Earlier, two senior Iranian security officials told Reuters that Qaani, who traveled to Lebanon following the assassination of Hezbollah's Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli airstrike on September 27, has not been heard from since Israel intensified its bombardment of southern Lebanon last week.

Jabari told Tasnim, "Commander Qaani is in good health and will receive the Medal of Fatḥ from the Supreme Leader in the coming days." Ebrahim Maghdisi, deputy commander of the Quds Force, on Monday denied reports that Qaani had been injured as a result of intensified Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah targets in the southern suburbs of Beirut.

Tehran appointed Qaani as the head of the Quds Force—the unit responsible for the Revolutionary Guard's military and intelligence operations abroad—following the killing of his predecessor, Qassem Soleimani, in a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad in 2020.

On Sunday, Khamenei awarded Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the IRGC Aerospace Force, the Medal of Fatḥ for his critical role in the missile attack that Tehran launched against Israel on October 1.

Iran has been awarding the Medal of Fatḥ since 1989 to war heroes and military and political leaders, particularly those who participated in the eight-year Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s.

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