Iran's Quds Force commander detained amid Mossad infiltration concerns

Esmail Qaani, the commander of Iran's elite Quds Force, is currently under guard and being questioned as part of an investigation into significant security breaches.

He remains unharmed but has not made a public appearance since the Israeli airstrike that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut on September 27, an event that has shaken the anti-Israel Axis of Resistance alliance, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media.

In the wake of Nasrallah's death, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has launched investigations into how Israel managed to infiltrate the top ranks of Hezbollah and determine Nasrallah’s whereabouts. Sources from Tehran, Beirut, and Baghdad indicate that Qaani and his team are under lockdown as inquiries continue.

Qaani took command of the Quds Force after the US assassination of its previous leader, Qassem Soleimani, in January 2020. Concerns about compromised senior Iranian commanders intensified after the reported killing of Nasrallah’s presumed successor, Hashem Safieddine, in a separate Israeli strike on October 4, which targeted a secret Hezbollah meeting.

While speculation arose regarding Qaani's potential injury or death due to ongoing Israeli bombardments, sources within the IRGC and Iraqi officials confirmed that he was not injured and was not present at the Shura Council meeting where Safieddine was reportedly killed. After Qaani visited Lebanon two days post-Nasrallah's death to assess the situation, all communication was lost for two days following the attack on Safieddine.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed Safieddine had been eliminated, although military spokespersons later stated they could not confirm his death.

By Vafa Guliyeva