Esmail Qaani, Iran’s Quds Force commander, who travelled to Lebanon after Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah was died in an Israeli airstrike last month, has not been seen publicly and unverified reports are circulating about him being a Mossad agent.
The vanishing of Qaani has now led to rumours that he may be an agent of Israeli spy agency Mossad, which is behind Israel’s recent successful operations.
According to one official, Qaani was in Beirut’s southern suburbs, Dahiyeh, during a strike that reportedly targeted senior Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine.
However, the official said Qaani was not meeting Safieddine at the time.
Also read: Mossad hired Iranian agents to plant bombs in Haniyeh’s residence
Sources, as reported by The Sun, claimed that Qaani is under house arrest and being questioned on suspicion of being an Israeli spy.
Meanwhile, the Iranian leading newspaper Tehran Times has rejected all the claims of house arrest or killing of Qaani.
Who is Esmail Qaani? 5 points
- Esmail Qaani was appointed as the head of the Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force after Qassem Soleimani’s assassination by the US in 2020. His role involves managing Tehran’s paramilitary allies across the Middle East and globally.
- While Soleimani had close and friendly ties with Iran’s regional allies, Qaani has not been able to match that level of secrecy or authority, as noted by military analysts and those familiar with both men.
- Qaani, born in Mashhad, Iran, has a background in the Revolutionary Guards, fighting in the Iran-Iraq war.
- He became deputy commander of the Quds Force in 1997. He also has experience in Afghanistan and Pakistan but lacks fluency in Arabic, unlike Soleimani.
- Unlike Soleimani who was frequently seen on the ground, Qaani prefers a more discreet approach, conducting private meetings and keeping a low-key profile in his leadership of the Quds Force.
