Iranian commander insists: Head of Quds Force is in good health

Iran's Quds Force commander, Esmail Qaani, is in "good health," the force's deputy commander, Iraj Masjedi, said on Monday, according to Reuters.

This statement was made after two Iranian security sources told the news agency on Sunday that Qaani had been out of contact since strikes on Beirut last week.

"He is in good health and is carrying out his activities. Some ask us to issue a statement... there is no need for this," Masjedi said, as quoted by Iranian state media, in response to concerns about Qaani's whereabouts.

The Iranian Students' News Agency reported that Qaani sent a message to a conference in support of Palestinian Arab children which was held in Tehran on Monday, explaining that he could not attend "due to his being in another important meeting."

Two senior Iranian security officials told Reuters on Sunday that Qaani, who traveled to Lebanon following the elimination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli air strike last month, has not been heard from since strikes hit Beirut late last week.

One of the officials reported that Qaani was in the Dahieh suburb of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold, during a strike that was believed to have targeted senior Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine. However, the official clarified that Qaani was not meeting with Safieddine at the time.

Qaani was named in 2020 as head of the Quds Force, replacing Qassem Soleimani, who was eliminated in a US drone strike outside of Baghdad’s airport in Iraq.

The Quds Force is the foreign operations arm of Iran's powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and is on the US list of "foreign terrorist organizations".