Iranian Gen. Esmail Qaani’s whereabouts unknown amid alleged probe into Israeli assault on Hezbollah: report
The situation of an Iranian common is beneath scrutiny amid experiences he’s being investigated for his involvement in Israel’s dismantling of Lebanese terror outfit Hezbollah.
Brig. Gen. Esmail Qaani, the top of Iran’s elite Quds Drive, has not been seen in public since Israel killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in an enormous air strike on Beirut on Sept. 27.
Some Arab retailers say Qaani is alive and unharmed — however beneath guard — because the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) investigates safety breaches into how Israel was capable of convey down the terrorist motion’s most senior management and establish the place and when he may very well be discovered.
Others, together with Sky Information Arabic, reported Qaani is being probed over alleged ties to Israel. The outlet additionally reported the overall had a coronary heart assault whereas he was being questioned.
Suspicions escalated that senior Iranian commanders might have been compromised when the terrorist set to succeed Nasrallah — Hashem Safieddine — was most certainly additionally killed in an Oct. 4 airstrike on his Beirut base in Lebanon.
If Safieddine was killed, he could be the newest amongst greater than a dozen high Hezbollah officers killed by Israel in latest weeks because the Jewish state ramps up its assaults in opposition to the Iran-backed terror group.
Together with focused airstrikes in opposition to Hezbollah’s management in southern Lebanon, the Israel Protection Forces additionally started conducting floor raids in opposition to the fear group to demolish its weapons depots and infrastructure.
The Israeli army mentioned it killed greater than 200 Hezbollah operatives throughout final week’s raids, with a number of tunnels and rocket-launching amenities destroyed alongside the border.
IDF officers and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mentioned the operations in Lebanon would proceed till they’re assured Hezbollah now not poses a menace to northern Israel, the place tens of 1000’s of individuals have been displaced.
Iran’s Quds Drive gives assist for the anti-Israel “axis of resistance,” which consists of regional terror organizations together with the Palestinian Hamas in Gaza, the Houthis in Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Qaani grew to become the successor to former Quds boss Qassem Soleimani, who the US assassinated in 2020. After taking on Soleimani’s mantle, he has reportedly been dogged in his efforts to provide, practice and coordinate regional terror teams.
