The Fate of Ismail Qaani in Uncertainty; Who is the Commander of the Quds Force?

Following a week of uncertainty regarding Ismail Qaani, speculation about the death of the commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has intensified after the Israeli attack on Hezbollah's headquarters in Dahieh on October 12. However, IRGC officials claim he is alive and well and will receive the "Victory Medal" from the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic in the coming days. Ismail Qaani Akbarnejad, the 67-year-old commander of the Quds Force, was born on August 8, 1957, in Mashhad and joined the IRGC at the age of 21 in 1979. After completing a training course at the Saadabad barracks in Tehran, he returned to Mashhad. In 1980, following conflicts in Kurdistan, he embarked on his first military mission to that region. During the eight-year Iran-Iraq War, Qaani served as a mid-level commander in the "21st Imam Reza Division" and the "5th Nasr Division." In 2006 and 2007, he was the deputy of intelligence for the IRGC's Joint Staff, and later he was appointed as the deputy to Qassem Soleimani in the Quds Force, gaining notoriety for recruiting forces from Afghanistan for the Quds Force in regional wars. Since joining the IRGC until the end of the eight-year war with Iraq, Qaani participated in several operations, including Ashura, the liberation of the Gurkani heights, and the Fajr-8 operation, among others. His acquaintance with Qassem Soleimani began in 1982 during their simultaneous presence on the front lines against Iraq. After the war, then-IRGC commander Mohsen Rezaei appointed Ismail Qaani as the deputy commander of the 8th operational unit of the IRGC's Ground Forces in Mashhad. Some reports suggest his role in suppressing protests in Mashhad in 1991 during his tenure in this unit. Qaani held several other positions and before his appointment as Soleimani's successor in the Quds Force, he served as the deputy of intelligence and the deputy of protection for the IRGC's Joint Staff. In 2019, immediately after the elimination of Qassem Soleimani, he was appointed as his successor to command the Quds Force. The speed of Ismail Qaani's selection and the statements from Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, in his appointment decree indicating that the program of the Quds Force is exactly the same as during Qassem Soleimani's command, showed that the Supreme Leader does not want any interruption or change in the Quds Force's plans. Uncertainty surrounds Qaani's fate and the possibility of his death in the Israeli attack. Although Israeli officials stated that Ismail Qaani was not the intended target in the October 12 attack on Hezbollah's base in Dahieh, the commander of the Quds Force has been missing since then. Newsweek reported on October 15, citing its sources, that he was seen in Beirut last week. Reuters also reported, citing two senior security officials of the Islamic Republic, that Qaani traveled to Lebanon a month after the elimination of Hassan Nasrallah, but there has been no news of him since the Israeli army's attacks on Beirut last week. Ismail Qaani's name is on the list of individuals sanctioned by the U.S. government and the European Union due to repeated human rights violations and involvement in the development of missiles and drones and their distribution among the Islamic Republic's proxy forces and terrorists. In addition to the IRGC's military activities abroad, Ismail Qaani has played a role in commanding the suppression of widespread protests in various years in Iran. Reports indicate that Hezbollah forces from Lebanon and Hashd al-Shaabi from Iraq, which are proxy arms of the Quds Force, were used to suppress the protests in 2022 following the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody. In his speech on December 20, 2022, Qaani also defended compulsory hijab and condemned civil disobedience by women against it, using language considered offensive. Qaani's recruitment of forces from Afghanistan has been a topic of controversy from the Iraq war to the Syrian civil war. He used Afghan forces during the war while commanding the "21st Imam Reza Division," which later became a division. In subsequent years, the use of Afghan forces in Syria by the Quds Force under the title "Fatemiyoun Division" became controversial. Reports have emerged in recent years indicating that the Islamic Republic sends 14-year-old Afghan migrant teenagers in Iran to Syria to fight alongside government forces, which is considered a war crime under international law. The Washington Post also reported that Afghan youths join the Fatemiyoun Division for a few hundred dollars in wages, with approximately 840 members of the division killed during the Syrian civil war. The Fatemiyoun Division became one of the main units under the command of the Quds Force in the battle to support the Syrian government, and during this presence, the unit was elevated from a brigade to a division. However, Ismail Qaani, without mentioning the financial and migratory motivations of the Afghan forces in the Fatemiyoun Division, referred to them as fighters who "fight for the defense of Islam" in various places. As Qaani has spent a significant part of his membership in the IRGC in the Iraq war and the Quds Force, he does not have extensive records of dealing with opponents and protesters, which is usually done by commanders of urban headquarters. However, his signature on two famous letters from IRGC generals following the protests in July 1999 and the protests in 2009 indicates that this IRGC general, like many of his peers, is prepared to confront any kind of protest and sees suppression as the way to calm dissent. After the popular and student protests against the attack by Basij and police forces on the university dormitory in July 1999, as the protests continued, 24 commanders wrote a letter to then-President Mohammad Khatami, stating that their patience had run out and that they could not tolerate the situation if the government did not address it. This letter was met with criticism, with some viewing it as a threat of a coup by the IRGC commanders. Among the signatories were Qassem Soleimani and Ismail Qaani alongside other commanders, including Aziz Jafari and Hossein Hamadani. Jafari later became the IRGC's chief commander, while Hamadani, who played a key role in suppressing the 2009 protests, was killed in Syria. Another letter signed by Ismail Qaani was addressed to the former chief of the IRGC Joint Staff, Hossein Alaei, who criticized the suppression of the 2009 protests in a note. This letter, signed by 12 IRGC commanders, harshly attacked Alaei for criticizing the suppression of protesters and the lack of permission for peaceful demonstrations. As the deputy of the Quds Force, Ismail Qaani, due to his activities in various sections of the IRGC, was eventually appointed as the deputy commander of this force in 2006. Although in recent years, Qassem Soleimani's name has frequently been mentioned as the main decision-maker of the Islamic Republic's policies in the region, and the Islamic Republic has conducted extensive propaganda to portray Soleimani as a "savior" against the threat of ISIS, no reports or news of Ismail Qaani's activities have been published during his 22 years in the Quds Force. Rasoul Sanaei Rad, the political deputy of the ideological and political office of the Supreme Command of the Islamic Republic, described Ismail Qaani's work in the Quds Force while he was Soleimani's deputy as involving staff work, training, organization, coordination, and preparation. According to him, based on the division of labor between the two, Qassem Soleimani was active in external affairs, while the internal section, which included organization and preparation, was the responsibility of Qaani. Nevertheless, in his rare speeches, Ismail Qaani adopted the usual approach of military personnel and high-ranking officials of the Islamic Republic, threatening American forces in the region, threatening Israel, expressing anger over Arab countries' disputes with Israel, rejecting any negotiations with the United States, and praising the mobilization of Afghan forces for presence in Syria. He further threatened that "any American ship in any part of Iran's regional waters is within the range of our missiles, and the regime is capable of hitting American ships with such precision that it lands in the middle of the ship." In another statement, Qaani rejected dialogue and negotiation with the United States, emphasizing Iran's missile program despite the concerns of Iran's neighbors in the Persian Gulf, stating that Iran would not seek permission from any country for the construction of weapons and its missile power. Qaani also referred to the Fatemiyoun Division, primarily composed of Afghan volunteers, as one of the most influential forces in Syria, adding that "their area of influence was not just a piece of Syrian land," as he claimed that when the Fatemiyoun forces entered the battlefield, they created a new atmosphere that led individuals from other parts of the world to express readiness for participation. He did not mention the countries from which individuals expressed readiness to join the Quds Force, but Rasoul Sanaei Rad, in his remarks introducing Qaani, stated that the commander of the Quds Force has close ties with "resistance forces in Muslim countries in Africa." Qaani also strongly criticized some Arab countries' efforts to normalize relations with Israel through negotiations, labeling their leaders as "weak-willed." He supported Hezbollah's actions against Israel and claimed that various American administrations' support for Israel was mandatory, stating that U.S. presidential candidates would not be approved unless they committed to defending Israel, despite the fact that the electoral system in the U.S. does not have a vetting process like that of Iran's Guardian Council. Recent speculations in Israel about Ismail Qaani's status and Yahya Sinwar; Qaani was not the target. Qaani's repeated absence and the efforts of the ceremony's host to justify his absence. A message from Hassan Nasrallah's deputy from a hideout filled with fear and slogans. Understanding Hassan Nasrallah better; part of the program's last page. Hassan Nasrallah and his successor were killed in shelters built by the Islamic Republic; part of the program's last page. Reuters, citing "two senior security officials" in Iran: There has been no news of Ismail Qaani for a week. Speculations about Ismail Qaani's status continue; The New York Times reports he was last seen in Beirut last week. Netanyahu: Hashim Safi al-Din and his successor have been killed. The U.S.: Preventing Israel from responding to the Islamic Republic's attack has never been a priority. A Voice of America reporter after returning from Lebanon: The Iranian government pursues a death ideology. A Lebanese security source: Since Friday, there has been no news of Hassan Nasrallah's potential successor. Israel attacked targets in Gaza and Beirut on the anniversary of the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack. Khamenei deemed the Islamic Republic's missile attacks on Israel "legitimate" despite global criticism. Hezbollah faced heavy Israeli attacks on Friday night; Biden called for preventing a widespread war. Israel reported the attack on Hezbollah's intelligence headquarters in Beirut and the killing of "Mohammad Youssef Anisi." Bombing in the center of Beirut; Netanyahu promised victory over the "axis of evil" of the Islamic Republic. Confirmation of the death of Hassan Nasrallah's son-in-law, a key figure in transferring weapons from Iran to Lebanon and Syria. Increasing distrust between Tehran and Hezbollah; one IRGC member was arrested due to curiosity about Nasrallah's whereabouts. Reuters: Gulf Arab states are neutral in the Iran-Israel dispute. Currency fluctuations and stock market collapse in Iran; financial markets' reaction to military tensions in the region.