Iranian Gen. Esmail Qaani’s whereabouts unknown amid probe into his ‘ties with Israel’ after its assault on Hezbollah: report

The location of an Iranian general is under scrutiny amid reports he’s being investigated for his involvement in Israel’s dismantling of Lebanese terror outfit Hezbollah.

Brig. Gen. Esmail Qaani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, has not been seen in public since Israel killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in a massive air strike on Beirut on Sept. 27.

Some Arab outlets say Qaani is alive and unhurt — but under guard — as the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) investigates security breaches into how Israel was able to bring down the terrorist movement’s most senior leadership and identify where and when he could be found.

Others, including Sky News Arabic, reported Qaani is being probed over alleged ties to Israel. The outlet also reported the general had a heart attack while he was being questioned.

Suspicions escalated that senior Iranian commanders may have been compromised when the terrorist set to succeed Nasrallah — Hashem Safieddine — was most likely also killed in an Oct. 4 airstrike on his Beirut base in Lebanon. 

If Safieddine was killed, he would be the latest among more than a dozen top Hezbollah officials killed by Israel in recent weeks as the Jewish state ramps up its attacks against the Iran-backed terror group.

Along with targeted airstrikes against Hezbollah’s leadership in southern Lebanon, the Israel Defense Forces also began conducting ground raids against the terror group to demolish its weapons depots and infrastructure.

The Israeli military said it killed more than 200 Hezbollah operatives during last week’s raids, with multiple tunnels and rocket-launching facilities destroyed along the border.

IDF officials and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the operations in Lebanon would continue until they are assured Hezbollah no longer poses a threat to northern Israel, where tens of thousands of people have been displaced.

Iran’s Quds Force provides support for the anti-Israel “axis of resistance,” which consists of regional terror organizations including the Palestinian Hamas in Gaza, the Houthis in Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Qaani became the successor to former Quds boss Qassem Soleimani, who the US assassinated in 2020. After taking up Soleimani’s mantle, he has reportedly been dogged in his efforts to supply, train and coordinate regional terror groups.