Iran’s Quds Force commander ‘in good health’, says his deputy
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Iran’s Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani (above) had travelled to Lebanon after the killing of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli air strike.
PHOTO: REUTERS
TEHRAN – Iran’s Quds Force top commander Esmail Qaani is in “good health”, the force’s deputy commander Iraj Masjedi said on Oct 7, after Iranian security sources told Reuters he had been out of contact since strikes on Beirut last 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,” Mr Masjedi was quoted as saying by state media in reference to Mr Qaani.
Earlier, one of the officials speaking to Reuters said Mr Qaani was in Beirut’s southern suburbs, known as the Dahiyeh, during a strike last week that was reported to have targeted senior Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine. The official said he was not meeting Mr Safieddine.
Israel has been hitting multiple targets in Dahiyeh as it pursues a campaign against Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah.
Tehran named Mr Qaani the head of the Revolutionary Guard Corps’ overseas military intelligence service after the United States assassinated his powerful predecessor Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike in Baghdad in 2020.
The Quds Force heavily influences its allied armed groups across the Middle East. REUTERS
