1. Esmail Qaani is an Iranian brigadier general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and commander of its Quds Force, a division primarily responsible for extraterritorial operations.
17 Facts About Esmail Qaani
1. 2.
The Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, appointed Qaani to succeed Qasem Soleimani as Commander of the Quds Force.
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In October 2024, Esmail Qaani was thought to have been killed or injured along with Hashem Safieddine in the October 2024 Dahieh airstrike.
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However Esmail Qaani appeared at a ceremony for Abbas Nilforoushan later that month, according to the Islamic Republic of Iran News Network.
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Esmail Qaani was born in Mashhad, a pilgrimage city and the second most populous in Iran.
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Esmail Qaani joined the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps in 1980.
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Esmail Qaani tackled nuclear armed Pakistan without stirring a full-frontal encounter.
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In 1997, Esmail Qaani was appointed deputy commander of the Quds Force, by chief commander Rahim Safavi, with Qasem Soleimani as commander.
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On 9 January 2018, Esmail Qaani visited a hospital that was being built with Iranian funds in Afghanistan as the envoy of Iran.
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Esmail Qaani has sharply criticized US involvement in the region, at times expressing bellicose rhetoric towards President Donald Trump and American nationals.
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Iranian expatriate and political expert, Dr Karim Abdian Bani Saeed, expressed the view that the appointment of the subject was hasty and that Esmail Qaani's expertise falls short of the assassinated Soleimani.
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Esmail Qaani noted that despite his relatively unknown figure, Qaani is a veteran with decades of overseas military experience, and signaled that his appointment is unlikely to either reduce the Quds Force influence upon Iranian foreign policy, or change Iranian influence in the region.
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Esmail Qaani was last seen assisting Hezbollah in Beirut, but no official statement has been issued by the IRGC regarding his condition.
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Israeli and Arab media reported that Esmail Qaani might have been injured or killed in an Israeli arirstrike in Beirut, and Iranian officials have not confirmed his status.
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In March 2012, Esmail Qaani was added to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List by the US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, freezing his presumed assets and prohibiting transactions with US entities.
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In October 2022, Esmail Qaani was included in a Canadian sanctions list that included 9 Iranian entities, and 25 senior officials.
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On 31 May 2024, the EU Council imposed personal sanction against Esmail Qaani, citing his direct responsibility as the commander of the Quds Forces for providing Iranian weaponry to a wide web of Iran-backed militias and other proxies operating across the Middle East, including Yemen's Houthis.