Commander of the Islamic Republic Guards Corps Quds Force, Brigadier General Esmail Qaani, is in full health, an IRGC General Ebrahim Jabbari claimed to state media on Wednesday, according to the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news channel.
The adviser to Qaani was further quoted in Tasnim News Agency as saying that the commander would be receiving the Medal of Conquest from Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the near future.
According to the Tasnim report, Jabbari claimed that Qaani “will receive the Fath medal from the Supreme Leader in the coming days.”
Qaani has still not made any public appearances since the Israeli strike that targeted Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah’s presumed successor, Hashem Safieddine, in southern Beirut last week.
Where is Qaani?
Jabbari’s statements come after days of speculation after The New York Times reported that Qaani’s whereabouts were unknown after the Israeli airstrike in Beirut.
The NYT reported that Qaani had traveled to Beirut to meet with senior-level Hezbollah officials amid the ongoing Israeli military operations in southern Lebanon.
Qaani was reportedly supposed to give an interview to Iranian media on Sunday after the strike to prove that he was alive, but the interview never occurred.
Reuters reported that the force’s deputy commander, Iraj Masjedi, told to Iranian State media on Monday that Qaani was in “good health.”
Qaani succeeded Qasem Soleimani as commander after the latter was assassinated by the United States in 2020.
