Israel Fights Hezbollah in Lebanon and Signals Escalation in Gaza: Live Updates
Officials in Iran have not yet given a clear answer, according to Iranian news media.
One Iranian news site published a long biography of the general’s decades of service as a veteran of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.
The Quds Force is the branch of the Guards that is tasked with external operations, including overseeing militant groups that Iran supports in the region. The network is regionally known as the ‘axis of resistance.’
The concerns about the general followed reports in some Israeli and Arab media on Saturday that he was either killed or injured in one of Israel’s recent attacks on Beirut. The Guards has yet to issue a statement confirming the general’s whereabouts.
The general, 67, was last seen publicly at the Tehran offices of Hezbollah, two days after Israel killed the group’s leader in Lebanon, according to photos posted by Iranian media. The general was notably absent on Friday when Iran’s supreme leader led a prayer service commemorating the Hezbollah leader.
Iran launched nearly 200 ballistic missiles at Israel on Tuesday in retaliation for the killing of the Hezbollah leader and for the assassination in Tehran of Hamas’s political leader. Israel has vowed to retaliate.
Iranian military officials said on Saturday that all the country’s armed forces had been placed on the highest alert, anticipating Israeli strikes. Iran’s foreign minister, in Damascus on Saturday, warned that Iran’s response to any Israeli attack would be ‘stronger, and they can put our determination to that test.’
The silence from senior Iranian officials about the general was reportedly creating panic among rank-and-file members of the Guards.
The general is known for his stern and cold demeanor. He has been assiduous in following through on the projects started by his predecessor, integrating Iranian-backed armed groups in different countries so that they operate cohesively and are self-sufficient in manufacturing weapons, such as missiles and drones, with the training and help of Iran.
The United States assassinated the general’s predecessor in 2020 in Iraq.
Iranian media has called on officials to confirm the general’s whereabouts, suggesting that publishing a short video of him would be the best way to clarify and assure that he is well.