General Esmail Qaani, commander of the Quds Force, was reported dead by the influential American newspaper The New York Times after the start of the war between Iran and occupying Israel.
However, on Tuesday (June 24), he participated in a pro-government rally in Iran, where he was seen smiling and conversing with ordinary people. Qatar-based Al Jazeera reported that these photos and videos were published by various news outlets, including Iran's allied groups and the Houthi-run Al Masirah TV.
The Israeli newspaper Times of Israel stated that while The New York Times reported General Esmail Qaani's death, the Israeli army made no such claim.
News of Esmail Qaani's death had also spread once before. Last October, Israel killed Hezbollah's former chief Hashem Safieddine in a bombing in Beirut, the capital of Lebanon. At that time, it was rumored that the Quds Force chief was also with Safieddine.
Notably, Esmail Qaani became the head of the Quds Force in 2020, succeeding the late Qasem Soleimani. Soleimani was killed in a US airstrike in Baghdad. The Revolutionary Guard's Quds Force primarily operates outside Iran, assisting groups like Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthi rebels.
