Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force Brigadier-General Esmail Qaani is alive and currently under investigation in Iran, the Middle East Eye reported on Thursday, citing several sources.
His whereabouts have been unknown since Israel’s Saturday strike in Beirut that killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah’s presumed successor, Hashem Safieddine.
According to the report, the Islamic Republic is currently researching security breaches, with ten sources from Beirut, Baghdad, and Tehran telling the UK-based news outlet that both Qaani and his team were under isolation while under examination.
In addition, on Thursday, Israeli media, citing Sky News, reported that Qaani had suffered from a heart attack during interrogations.
“The Iranians have serious suspicions that the Israelis have infiltrated the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, especially those working in the Lebanese arena, so everyone is currently under investigation,” a source told the Middle East Eye.
However, the report also cited a source linked to Hezbollah, who alleged unequivocally that the breach was “100 percent Iranian.”
One source reportedly told the news outlet that Qaani was still in Beirut rather than in Iran.
Qaani has not be publicly seen since Israel eliminated Hezbollah’s chief Hassan Nasrallah in late September, The Middle East Eye further noted.
Qaani in Beirut
The sources cited by the outlet noted that Qaani and other IRGC commanders arrived in Beirut two days following Nasrallah’s killing for an on-site assessment of the situation.
Following Safieddine’s elimination, however, communications with Qaani were lost, the sources also reportedly noted.
Qaani succeeded Qasem Soleimani after the latter was assassinated by the United States in 2020.
