Esmail Qaani (also spelled as Ismail Qaani;[2][better source needed] Persian: اسماعیل قاآنی; born 8 August 1957)[3] is an Iranian brigadier general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and commander of its Quds Force, a division primarily responsible for extraterritorial operations. The Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, appointed Qaani to succeed Qasem Soleimani as Commander of the Quds Force.[4][5][6]
Esmail Qaani | |
|---|---|
 Qaani in 2020 | |
| Born | 8 August 1957 Mashhad, Imperial State of Iran |
| Allegiance |  Islamic Republic of Iran |
| Service | Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps |
| Years of service | 1980–present |
| Rank | Brigadier General |
| Commands | Quds Force |
| Battles / wars | |
In October 2024, speculation arose that he was either killed or injured alongside Hashem Safieddine, who was targeted in the October 2024 Dahieh airstrike.[7][8][9] IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News Agency reported that he will be awarded the Fath medal within days.[10] Qaani reappeared at a ceremony for Abbas Nilforoushan later that month, according to the Islamic Republic of Iran News Network.[11]
Early life
Qaani was born in Mashhad, a pilgrimage city and the second most populous in Iran. He joined the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in 1980.[12]
Military career
During the Iran–Iraq War, Qaani led the 5th Nasr Brigade and 21st Imam Reza Armored Brigade.[13][14] In 1981, he received his military training in Imam Ali Officers' Academy in Tehran.[15] The war was where he first met the late IRGC general, Qasem Soleimani, who was the commander of the 41st Tharallah Division at the time.[16]
After the war, he joined the IRGC's Quds Force and started his activities in Khorasan Province, which borders Afghanistan, Turkmenistan[12] and Pakistan.[17] While Soleimani was stationed in the west, Qaani focused on Iranian priorities in the east, such as combating drug smuggling and supporting Afghanistan's Northern Alliance in its battles against the Taliban.[12]
He tackled nuclear armed Pakistan without stirring a full-frontal encounter.[18]
In 1997, Qaani was appointed deputy commander of the Quds Force, by chief commander Rahim Safavi, with Qasem Soleimani as commander.[19] As Deputy, Qaani oversaw financial disbursements to paramilitary groups including Hezbollah. An arms shipment intended for the Gambia was intercepted in Nigeria in October 2010.[20]
War against the Taliban in Afghanistan
After joining the Quds Force and starting military operations in eastern Iran that helped facilitate support for the Northern Alliance.[21][22]
In the 1990s, he fought against Afghan drug cartels on Iran's border with Afghanistan.[23] On 9 January 2018, Qaani visited a hospital that was being built with Iranian funds in Afghanistan as the envoy of Iran.[23]
Syrian civil war
On 25 May 2012, two villages in the Houla region of Syria were attacked, resulting in the deaths of 108 people, including 49 children. United Nations investigators concluded that victims had been killed in "two bouts of summary executions" by pro-Assad Shabiha.[24] U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland asserted on 29 May that Qaani alleged in an interview two days earlier that the Quds force helped train Shabiha forces responsible for the Houla attack.[25]
On 27 May, Qaani gave an interview to Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) stating, "Thanks to Iran's presence in Syria—physically and nonphysically—big massacres were prevented ... if the Islamic republic had not been present in Syria, the massacre of its people would have been multiplied."[26] The interview was deleted from ISNA's site within hours, but copies remained on other news outlets.[27]
According to Meir Javedanfar, an Iranian-Israeli expert on the Middle East, Qaani's statement was "the first time that an IRGC senior officer has admitted that the Quds force is operating in Syria."[28] Joint Chiefs-of-Staff Chairman Hassan Firouzabadi voiced on Press TV that "[w]e do not interfere in Syria's internal affairs but we support Syria as the resistance front against Israel because one of our principles is the issue of Palestine. ... We have encouraged the country's government to implement reforms and listen to its people's demands."[25]
Prior to his appointment as Quds Force commander, Qaani was most famous for recruiting the Liwa Fatemiyoun and Liwa Zainebiyoun Shia fighters operating in Syria.[29]
Escalation of Iran–United States tensions
Qaani has sharply criticized U.S. involvement in the region, at times expressing bellicose rhetoric towards President Donald Trump and American nationals.[citation needed]
At a ceremony commemorating martyrs on 5 July 2017, he contended that the U.S. had futilely spent $6 trillion on Iraq and Afghanistan in attempts to attack Iran. He ended saying, "America has suffered more losses from us than we have suffered losses from them."[30][31]
On 13 October 2017, President Trump declined to recertify the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), less formally known as the Iran nuclear deal.
On 22 January 2020, the U.S. targeted Qaani with a death threat, "if he followed a similar path by killing Americans."[32] Abbas Mousavi, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran said: "These words are an official announcement and a clear unveiling of America's targeted and governmental terrorism".[32]
In January 2020, in the wake of the drone strike that killed his predecessor Soleimani, Qaani stated on Al-Jazeera, "We tell everyone, be patient and see the dead bodies of Americans all over the Middle East."[33]
Command of Quds Force
In January 2020, Leader of Iran Ali Khamenei appointed Qaani as Commander of the Quds Force after General Qasem Soleimani was killed by a targeted U.S. drone strike near Baghdad International Airport.[6][4] Khamenei described him as "one of the most prominent military commanders during the Sacred Defense".[34]
Saeid Golkar, a professor of political science at the University of Tennessee in the US and a visiting fellow for Iran policy at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, believed that for Khamenei, it was important that the new commander had qualities such as "loyal" and "committed" to himself and the Revolutionary Guard. Also, he was familiar with the Quds Force and management of the forces and Iran's proxies. Qaani fit that bill.[16]
Iranian expatriate and political expert, Dr. Karim Abdian Bani Saeed, expressed the view that the appointment of the subject was hasty and that Qaani's expertise falls short of the assassinated Soleimani. He 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.[35]
In early October 2024, concerns emerged regarding the whereabouts of Qaani. Speculation grew after his absence from major public events, including a prayer service led by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in honor of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. He was last seen assisting Hezbollah in Beirut, but no official statement has been issued by the IRGC regarding his condition. Israeli and Arab media reported that Qaani might have been injured or killed in an Israeli arirstrike in Beirut, and Iranian officials have not confirmed his status.[36] An October report by Middle East Eye stated that he was being questioned over security breaches.[37]
Sanctions
In March 2012, Qaani was added to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List by the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), freezing his presumed assets and prohibiting transactions with U.S. entities.[38] The U.S. targeted Qaani with sanctions for overseeing the distribution of Quds Force funding to regional allies.[39]
In October 2017, the Trump administration announced new sanctions against the Revolutionary Guard as a supporter of terrorist groups.[40] Qaani responded, "We are not a war-mongering country. But any military action against Iran will be regretted... Trump's threats against Iran will damage America... We have buried many... like Trump and know how to fight against America."[41]
In October 2022, Qaani was included in a Canadian sanctions list that included 9 Iranian entities, and 25 senior officials. The sanctions came in reaction to the Death of Mahsa Amini, and the persecution of protestors in the widescale protests that ensued.[42]
On 31 May 2024, the EU Council imposed personal sanction against 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.[43]
See also
References
- ^ Sardar Qaani;The commander in the shadow came to the field Tasnim News Agency
- ^ "Iran's supreme leader names new commander of Quds Force". Andadolu Agency. 3 January 2020.
- ^ "Esmail Ghaani: Who is Qasem Soleimani Successor?". See.News. 3 January 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
- ^ a b Crowley, Michael; Hassan, Falih; Schmitt, Eric (2 January 2020). "U.S. Strike in Iraq Kills Qassim Suleimani, Commander of Iranian Forces". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
- ^ فردا, رادیو (6 March 2019). "معاون سلیمانی: اسد را نیروی قدس به تهران آورد". رادیو فردا (in Persian). Radio Farda. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
- ^ a b "Iran names deputy commander of Quds force to replace Soleimani after killing". CNBC. 3 January 2020. Archived from the original on 14 March 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
- ^ "Where is Esmail Qaani? Quds Force chief disappears after Israeli strike in Beirut | Al Bawaba". www.albawaba.com. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
- ^ "Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani may have been wounded in Beirut bombing – Ya Libnan". 5 October 2024. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
- ^ "Where Is Esmail Qaani? Fate Of Iran's Quds Force Leader, Last Seen In Beirut, Remains In The Dark". News18. 6 October 2024. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
- ^ Pietromarchi, Virginia; Motamedi, Maziar (9 October 2024). "Iran's Qaani to receive top medal from supreme leader for Israel attack". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
Ebrahim Jabari, an advisor to IRGC commander-in-chief Hossein Salami, told reporters that Qaani is in good health and will receive the "Fath" medal from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei within days, according to IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news website.
- ^ Mahmoodi, Negar; Lilieholm, Lucas (14 October 2024). "Commander of Iran's elite Quds Force seen on state media after 2-week public absence". CNN. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
- ^ a b c "Esmail Qaani: The new man leading Iran's elite Quds Force He was also known for losing battles". BBC News. 7 January 2020.
- ^ "Iran's supreme leader names new commander of Quds Force". Anadolu Agency. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
- ^ Alfoneh, Ali (11 January 2012). "Esmail Qaani: The Next Revolutionary Guards Quds Force Commander?". The American Enterprise Institute. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
- ^ Alfoneh, Ali. "Who Is Esmail Qaani, the New Chief Commander of Iran's Qods Force?". Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
- ^ a b Ibrahim, Arwa. "EsmaiI Qaani: New 'shadow commander' of Iran's Quds Force". Al Jazeera.
- ^ Oweis and Farmer, Khaled Yacoub and Ben (5 January 2020). "Who is Esmail Qaani, the new Iranian elite force commander?". The Nation.
- ^ Quraishi, Ahmed (14 January 2020). "Why Iran's Quds Force chose Esmail Qaani as Suleimani's successor". The National.
- ^ "Profile | The Canny General: Quds Force Commander Ghasem Soleimani". FRONTLINE - Tehran Bureau. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
- ^ "Esmail Ghani". Iran Watch - Tracking Iran's Unconventional Weapon Capabilities. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
- ^ "Foreign Terrorist Organizations". United States Department of State.
- ^ Cunningham, Erin. "Iran's new Quds Force commander brings continuity to the post held by his slain predecessor". Washington Post.
- ^ a b Bezhan, Frud. "Iran's New Quds Force Leader Has A Long, Shadowy History With Afghanistan". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
- ^ "Most Houla victims killed in summary executions: U.N." Reuters. 29 May 2012. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
- ^ a b "Media Watch - Iran's Alleged Role in Syrian Massacre". PBS Frontline. 21 June 2012. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
- ^ "News Agency Removes Report On Iran's 'Physical' Involvement In Syria". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 28 May 2012. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
- ^ "Archive of ISNA Ghaani Interview". Baztab.net (in Persian). 27 May 2012. Archived from the original on 5 February 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
- ^ "Syrian army being aided by Iranian forces". The Guardian. 28 May 2012. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
- ^ "How Iran can respond to the killing of Qassem Suleimani". The Economist. 9 January 2020.
- ^ "Quds Force Commander: We've Inflicted More Losses to America than It's Done to Us". Middle East Institute. 13 July 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
- ^ "آمریکا با ۶هزار میلیارد دلار هزینه هیچ اقدامی علیه ایران نتوانست انجام دهد". Tasnim News Agency (in Persian). 5 July 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
- ^ a b Eltahir, Nafisa (23 January 2020). "Successor to slain Iran general faces same fate if he kills Americans: U.S. envoy". reuters.
- ^ Borger, Julian; Holmes, Oliver; Chulov, Martin; Pilkington, Ed (3 January 2020). "Fears of new conflict in Middle East as Tehran vows to avenge killing". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 4 January 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
- ^ "Ayatollah Khamenei Appoints Gen. Qa'ani as New Quds Force Chief". IFP News. 3 January 2020.
- ^ Yaghoub Fazeli and Emily Judd, Al Arabiya English. (4 January 2020). "Iran's new Quds Force commander Esmail Ghaani 'not another Solemani': Expert". Al Arabiya English website Retrieved 3 January 2020.
- ^ Fassihi, Farnaz (5 October 2024). "Iranian news media asks: Where is Esmail Ghaani, the top Quds Forces commander?". The New York Times.
- ^ al-Salhy, Suadad (10 October 2024). "Exclusive: Esmail Qaani under guard and questioned as Iran probes Nasrallah killing". Middle East Eye.
- ^ "Specially Designated Global Terrorists Entries Added to OFAC's SDN List on March 27, 2012". OFAC SDN Sanctions Removal Lawyers. Archived from the original on 3 January 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
- ^ Cunningham, Erin. "Iran's new Quds Force commander brings continuity to the post held by his slain predecessor". The Washington Post.
- ^ "Trump threatens to rip up Iran nuclear deal unless US and allies fix 'serious flaws'". The Guardian. 13 October 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
- ^ "Senior Quds force commander says Trump's threats against Iran will damage U.S.: report". Reuters. 13 October 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
- ^ "Canada slaps new sanctions on Iran over death of Mahsa Amini". globalnews.ca. 3 October 2022.
- ^ "COUNCIL IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) 2024/1604 of 31 May 2024 implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1529 concerning restrictive measures in view of Iran's military support to Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and to armed groups and entities in the Middle East and the Red Sea region". Official Journal of the European Union.