Brig. Gen. Esmail Ghaani, commander of Iran’s elite Quds Force, was recently seen in video footage broadcast by Iranian state news media, ending days of speculation regarding his whereabouts.
The Quds Force, a branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, is responsible for external operations and overseeing militant groups supported by Iran, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza, the Houthis in Yemen, and various militia groups in Iraq and Syria. Concerns about General Ghaani’s location arose as Iran prepared for a possible counterstrike following its missile barrage at Israel two weeks prior.
Prior to the video release, General Ghaani was last seen in Tehran shortly after the Israeli military killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon, as reported by Iranian media.
According to IRNA, the Iranian state news agency, General Ghaani attended a ceremony at an airport in Tehran on Tuesday morning to receive the body of Maj. Gen. Abbas Nilforoushan, a senior Iranian commander killed in the strike on Nasrallah.
Later that morning, General Ghaani was present at a public funeral for General Nilforoushan in Tehran, as shown in the video footage.
General Ghaani assumed leadership of the Quds Force following the U.S. killing of its former commander, Gen. Qassem Suleimani, in Iraq in 2020.