His disappearance caused an orgy of rumors. And its reappearance triggers several theories and scenarios. The reason given by the Supreme Commander of the Revolutionary Guard’s Quds Force, Esmail Kaani.
Iranian state television showed footage of Esmail Kahani on Tuesday morning at a memorial service for a senior Revolutionary Guard commander killed in Lebanon. This resurgence comes after reports that he was killed in an Israeli attack in Lebanon or captured, interrogated and targeted by the Iranian regime as a Mossad agent.
It was known that Qaani was in Lebanon to coordinate Hezbollah’s “response” to Hassan Nasrallah. It was initially reported that he was killed in an attack against Nasrallah’s supposed successor, Hashem Safyeddin. It was later reported that he was in custody in Iran and being questioned on suspicion of spying for the Israelis and for his role in the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah.
In fact, information was conveyed that he had suffered a heart attack during the interrogation and that he had been rushed to the hospital.
Tuesday’s video shows Qaani at a memorial service in the Iraqi city of Karbala for Revolutionary Guard Gen. Abbas Nilforoushan, who was killed in the Sept. 27 airstrike that toppled Nasrallah.
Video on Iranian television of IRGC Quds Force commander Ismail Qaani at the memorial to the late Abbas Niloforoshan killed by an Israeli strike in Lebanon.
This comes amid recent rumors and blatant reports that he has been killed, arrested or had a heart attack. pic.twitter.com/qiL5EbfyUy
– Murtaza Hussain (@MazMHussain) October 15, 2024
Theories
Tehran appointed Qaani as head of the Quds Force after his powerful predecessor Qassem Soleimani was assassinated by the United States in Baghdad in 2020. The Quds Force leads negotiations with Iran’s proxy groups across the Middle East, which include Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza and the Houthi rebels in Yemen.
His reappearance could mean that no evidence has emerged against him of a connection to Israel, or that Tehran intends to put an end to rumors of Israeli agents infiltrating the Revolutionary Guards until it completes its investigations. It didn’t take long for other theories to emerge on social media that wanted Tehran to use Kaani’s proxy to obscure the news. Furthermore, there was no official announcement regarding his presence at the funeral ceremony.
However, Israeli and American media comment that the seed of suspicion has already been cultivated. Ali Khamenei currently feels that he cannot trust anyone.