Who is esmail qa’ani?
Esmail Qaani, the new leader of Iran's Quds Force, commits to Soleimani doctrine.
Brigadier Gen. Esmail Qaani says he will follow in his predecessor’s footsteps; Annabel Rooney reports from Tehran.
Who is Esmail Qaani?
In the early hours of January 3rd, Major General Qassim Soleimani and three key members of the PMF (Popular Mobilization Forces) were killed in a targeted drone strike ordered by U.S President Donald Trump.
The assassination set off a series of events which would both aide in the destabilization of the Quds force and the unification, albeit temporarily, of the Iranian people.
In the subsequent hours following Soleimani’s death, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared Esmail Qaani as the new shadow commander of the Quds Force, stepping up from his former position as second in command. On Khamenei’s orders, Qaani was to strictly adhere to Soleimani’s policies and continue to strengthen Iranian influence in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Esmail Qaani, the newly-appointed IRGC Quds Force commander, speaks in Tehran, Iran on Nov. 5, 2016. (Photo by Tasnim News Agency)
While many analysts forecast a challenging road ahead for Qaani, Iranwire investigates the enigmatic figure who will now spearhead one of the most formidable intelligence units in the world.
While little is known about about Esmail Qaani, Green Movement opposition sources name Bojnord in North Khorasan province as his birthplace. By the start of the Iran-Iraq war in 1980, Qaani had spent 10 years of his life under the monarchy which prompted him to join the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Qaani quicky earned respect among his comrades and by 1982 was drafted to lead the counterinsurgency unit, 5th Nasr Brigade, which he commanded throughout the eight year war with Iraq.
It was when the war came to an end in 1988 that the Quds Force, IRGC’s elite unit specializing in foreign military operations, was established and where Qaani’s tactical and strategic expertise ensured the safety of its borders in the east during warfare.
In his in depth research on Qaani’s rise to power, Ali Alfoneh, former research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, claims it was in this position that he battled the Taliban and drug cartels from Afghanistan and Pakistan. “It is likely that Qaani was involved in the IRGC’s operations against drug cartels infiltrating Khorasan province from Afghanistan and in the IRGC’s support to the Jebhe-ye Mouttahid-i Islami-yi Milli Bara-yi Nijat-i Afghanistan, also known as the Northern Alliance, against the Taliban in the late 1990s.”
General Esmail Qaani, newly-appointed chief of Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) – Quds Force, weeps while praying over the coffin of the force's previous head General Qassem Soleimani at the Tehran University Campus in Tehran, Iran, January 6, 2020. /AP Photo
After almost 10 years, Qaani was appointed Deputy Commander by IRGC Chief Commander Rahim Safavi, along with Soleimani as Chief Commander. In the years that followed, until Solemani’s death in January, both men, warfare veterans and men forged a harmonious working relationship, forming a cohesive strategy
in which Iran’s best interests and political
division of labor
final thoguth - now soleimani is dead, a gaping hole rips through the force - does qaani have the charisma, disipline and ability to follow though in Soleimanis plans as directled by Khomenei? last words wil be his quote on american bodies