File image.
Iranian Brigadier General Esmail Qaani, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) Quds Force, appeared alive and well on June 24 during celebrations in the Islamic Republic’s capital, Tehran, after a ceasefire with Israel.
Iran’s Tasnim News Agency shared a video showing Qaani among the crowd at the rally, celebrating Iran’s self-claimed victory over Israel.
“Commander Qaani attends today’s gathering of the people of Tehran following Operation Divine Victory,” the agency said on the X social network.
Later, Press TV also published the video, saying: “Qaani, Commander of the IRGC Quds Force, was warmly received by a jubilant crowd in Tehran during victory celebrations over the Zionist [Israeli] regime.”
The New York Times reported that Qaani was among the Iranian military leaders killed in the start of the Israeli war on the Islamic Republic earlier this month.
The opening strikes, on June 13, killed Iran’s military commander Mohammad Bagheri, IRGC chief Hossein Salami, and head of the Khatam-al Anbiya Central Headquarters, Gholam Ali Rashid, among other leaders. Many of Iran’s top nuclear scientists were also assassinated.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) never confirmed the death of Qaani, but it did include him in an infographic of targeted leaders, which indicate that an attempt was made on the commander’s life at some point during the war.
Qaani was not the only survivor of the Israeli assassination campaign. On the first day of the war, the IDF announced the killing of Ali Shamkhani, a close advisor of the Supreme Leader of Iran. However, Iranian media reported on 20 June that Shamkhani was still alive, and was in stable condition after recovering from severe injuries from an Israeli strike.
Israel started the war with the stated goal of crippling Iran’s nuclear program, then slowly shifted into targeting the military capabilities and government symbols of the Islamic Republic.
The assassination campaign was particularly interesting as it revealed an Israeli desire in weakening the upper command structure of Iran, most likely to facilitate a change in the government, or even a full-on regime change. The assassination disturbed the command and control chain of the military and the IRGC for the first few days, but the government was not weakened.
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