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Iran’s Quds Force Commander Ghaani Reported Safe Despite Rumors of Injury in Israeli Strike

By Nigar Bayramli October 7, 2024

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Esmail Ghaani, the head of the Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force, speaks during a ceremony marking the anniversary of the death of senior Iranian military commander Mohammad Hejazi, in Tehran, on April 14, 2022. / WANA via Reuters

The deputy commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force for coordination, Brigadier General Iraj Masjedi, has assured that Quds Force Commander Brigadier General Esmail Ghaani “is in good health and fully engaged in his mission.”

Speaking at a ceremony honoring Arbaeen pilgrims at the Shahid Beheshti Cultural Complex in Tehran on October 7, Masjedi commented, “Some have asked for an official statement on Ghaani’s health, but why should we provide one? There is no need.”  This statement was reported by the Mehr news agency.

Later that day, Ghaani reportedly sent a message to the 7th International Conference on Solidarity with Palestinian Children. In his message, he apologized for his absence, explaining that he “could not attend the conference due to his participation in another important session.”

These developments followed unconfirmed reports from foreign news outlets suggesting that Ghaani had been injured or killed in a recent Israeli airstrike in Lebanon. According to some reports, since October 4, both Iran and Hezbollah had been unable to contact Ghaani.

On October 6, two senior Iranian security officials told Reuters that Ghaani had traveled to Lebanon following the assassination of Iran-backed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli strike on Dahiyeh on September 27.

Alongside Nasrallah, Abbas Nilforoushan, the operations chief and head of the Lebanon division of the IRGC’s Quds Force, was also killed. Nilforoushan had previously served as a senior military adviser for Iran in Lebanon. His predecessor, Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, was killed in an Israeli attack on Iran’s consulate in Damascus on April 1.

One official mentioned that Ghaani was in Beirut’s southern suburbs, known as Dahiyeh, during an airstrike that reportedly targeted senior Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine. However, the official clarified that Ghaani was not meeting Safieddine at the time. Safieddine, a possible successor to Nasrallah, was unharmed, though Nasrallah was killed in the Israeli strike on September 27.

According to Iran’s ISNA news agency, Ghaani visited Hezbollah’s office in Tehran on September 29 to pay tribute to Hassan Nasrallah after his death. During the visit, he also met with Abdullah Safieddine, the head of the office.

Ghaani was appointed head of the IRGC’s overseas military intelligence service following the assassination of his predecessor, Qassem Soleimani, by a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad in 2020.

Meanwhile, Israel has intensified its strikes on Iran’s allies - Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis - in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, and Yemen, as it prepares to expand its ground operations across the border. Israeli commandos have carried out small-scale raids in Lebanon, gathering intelligence and targeting Hezbollah infrastructure ahead of a potential wider ground offensive.