Iran’s Quds Force Commander Esmail Qaani Missing After Beirut Strikes

Oct 6 (Reuters) – Esmail Qaani, the commander of Iran’s Quds Force, has reportedly been unreachable since Israeli airstrikes targeted Beirut last week, two senior Iranian officials confirmed. Qaani had traveled to Lebanon following the killing of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in a previous Israeli strike last month.

According to the officials, Qaani was last known to be in Beirut’s southern suburbs, Dahiyeh, during the airstrike, which was believed to have targeted senior Hezbollah figure Hashem Safieddine. While Qaani was not in a meeting with Safieddine, Hezbollah has indicated that Israeli forces have obstructed efforts to locate Safieddine, whose fate remains uncertain.

Safieddine, seen as a potential successor to Nasrallah, has been missing since the strikes on Beirut. Israel has escalated its military operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon, aiming to neutralize Iran-backed forces in the region.

The Iranian authorities and Hezbollah have not been able to make contact with Qaani since the strike, leading to concerns about his status. Qaani took command of the Quds Force in 2020 following the U.S. assassination of Qassem Soleimani.

Israel has stated that it attacked Hezbollah’s intelligence headquarters in Beirut but has yet to confirm who was affected by the strikes.

Quds Force

The Jerusalem Force refers to a special unit within the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), primarily tasked with operations in the region of Jerusalem and Palestine. It is often associated with broader efforts to support Palestinian groups and maintain Iran’s strategic objectives against Israel. The name “Jerusalem Force” reflects Iran’s ideological commitment to the liberation of Jerusalem (Al-Quds in Arabic), a central theme in Iran’s foreign policy rhetoric, particularly against Israel.

However, it is important to differentiate this from the more widely known Quds Force of the IRGC, which is responsible for Iran’s military operations outside of the country, including activities in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and other parts of the Middle East. The Quds Force operates as Iran’s special unit for conducting foreign missions, including support for Hezbollah, Hamas, and other groups aligned with Iran’s goals of resisting Israel and U.S. influence in the region.

The term Jerusalem Force is sometimes used interchangeably with the broader activities of the Quds Force, but it may also refer to operations or strategies specifically focusing on Palestinian territories and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.