– Iranian TV Shows Quds Force Chief After Deemed ‘Missing’ For Two Weeks:
The head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s (IRGC) Quds Force, Esmail Qaani, has been spotted at a military funeral in Tehran after not being seen for two weeks. US media reports earlier this month described that the general “has not been seen in public since Israel killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in a massive air strike on Beirut on Sept. 27.”
On Tuesday he was shown on state TV attending the the funeral ceremony for General Abbas Nilforoushan, who had been killed in the same Israeli airstrike on Beirut which took out Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Nilforoushan’s body was only days ago recovered from deep under the rubble in the south Beirut district of Dahieh.
Qaani’s public appearance is significant given that rumors and rampant speculation had led to regional and international media issuing reports saying he either died in an Israeli strike or was under arrest by the government of Iran.
For example, nearly a week ago Middle East Eye issued a report saying that Qaani was being detained by Iran in order to question him about the circumstances of the series of major security breaches exploited by Israel.
MEE had also said at the time that “Speculation has mounted online and in the media that Qaani was wounded or killed in Israel’s continuous bombardment of Beirut’s southern suburbs.”
AFP now reports of his new appearance in downtown Tehran:
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