Quds Force commander in ‘good health’
Esmai Qaadni, top commander of Iran’s Quds Force, is in “good health,” the force’s deputy commander Iraj Masjedi said on October 7th, according to the Arab News via Reuters. This follows two Iranian security sources telling Reuters that 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,” said Masjedi according to Iranian state media in reference to Qaani.
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The Iranian Students’ News Agency claimed that a message from Qaani was conveyed to a conference in solidarity with the children of Palestine held in Tehran on October 7th, adding that Qaani could not attend “due to his being in another important meeting.”
One of the two sources told Reuters that Qaadni was in Daiyeh in southern Beirut, an area Israel has been bombarding recently, during a strike that apparently targeted senior Hezbollah member Hashem Safieddine. The source added that he was not meeting Safieddine.
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Qaani was named as the head of the Revolutionary Guards Corps’ overseas military-intelligence service follow the US assassination of Qassem Soleimani back in 2020. The group has a strong influence over its allies across the region.
Reuters