Iranian General Esmail Qaani, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force, is reportedly alive but under investigation following a series of security breaches, according to an report by Middle East Eye (MEE). Qaani, unseen publicly since the September 27 Israeli airstrike that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, is being questioned along with his team as part of an investigation into how Israeli forces were able to target Hezbollah’s senior leadership. Ten sources from Tehran, Beirut, and Baghdad, including senior Shia figures and those close to Hezbollah and the IRGC, reportedly confirmed this to Middle East Eye.
Qaani reportedly traveled to Lebanon with several IRGC commanders to assess the situation. However, contact with him was lost after another Israeli attack targeted Hashem Safieddine, Nasrallah’s expected successor. Rumors of Qaani being wounded or killed circulated online, but sources within the IRGC and Iraqi officials told Middle East Eyethat Qaani was not injured and was not present at Safieddine’s meeting. Nonetheless, multiple sources indicated that Qaani is currently being held in Iran under investigation, overseen by figures close to Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The commander of a militia aligned with Iran suggested to MEE that Israeli intelligence had penetrated Iranian security ranks, allowing the targeted airstrike that killed both Nasrallah and Quds Force commander Brigadier General Abbas Nilforoushan, who had only recently arrived in Beirut from Tehran. According to sources close to Hezbollah, the breach is considered “100 percent Iranian.”
The investigation also revisits earlier concerns about Iranian security vulnerabilities, including the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July. These incidents have fueled suspicions that Israeli intelligence has made significant inroads into Iran’s security apparatus. The extent of the breach is still unclear, but the IRGC is reportedly working to uncover how Israeli forces obtained such sensitive information.
While Iranian state media has maintained that Qaani is in good health and continuing his duties, his absence from public events, coupled with conflicting reports about his whereabouts, has sparked further speculation.
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