One of the notable leaders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Ismail Qaani is known for his support of Iranian intervention in regional states, particularly in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen. Qaani, who fought alongside former Revolutionary Guard commander Qassem Soleimani during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s, rose through various ranks to become the commander of the Quds Force on January 3, 2020, succeeding Soleimani.
Early Life and Upbringing
Ismail Qaani was born in 1958 in the city of Mashhad (the center of Khorasan Province) in the northeast of Iran. He joined the Revolutionary Guards in his second decade of life and underwent training courses in Tehran in early 1981.
Political Experience
Qaani started his service in a training center of the Revolutionary Guard in Mashhad. With the outbreak of protests and violence in Kurdistan Province (west of the country) in the same year, he headed there. After the establishment of the Quds Force, he continued his military duties within it.
Becoming friends with Soleimani in 1983 on the war fronts, in an interview in 2015, as reported by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), Qaani said, “We are war comrades, and it was war that made us friends.” He added, “Those who become friends in times of hardship have deeper and more sustainable relationships than those who are friends just because they are friends in life.”
He fought in the Iran-Iraq war, advanced in military ranks inside the Revolutionary Guard, and became, during the war, the commander of the “21st Imam Reza Division” and the “5th Nasr Division,” as well as serving as the head of the Joint Staff of the Revolutionary Guard’s intelligence.
Appointed as the deputy commander of the Quds Force since 1997, the same year Soleimani took command of the force, Qaani succeeded him in January 2020 after Soleimani was assassinated by American forces in Baghdad.
Viewed as the “more hardline shadow of Soleimani,” Iranian media describe him as a rigid man not very different from his predecessor. Reports say that he has ample experience dealing with various battlefronts and is known as one of the strategists behind the concept of “popular formations.”
He is renowned for his endorsement of Iranian intervention in regional states, especially in Iraq and Syria, both of which he sees as “existential and fateful” wars. He not only participated in these wars as a military advisor but is also known for his support of the Syrian regime, leading operations in its favor. In addition, media reports point to his role in Lebanon and Yemen, with him being the first to reveal that the Houthi group possessed missiles with a range of over 400 kilometers.
In 2012, the United States imposed sanctions on Qaani, citing his role in financial payments to “elements in Africa” that Washington claims are affiliated with the Quds Force and other “terrorist groups,” according to the United States.
Sources within the Iranian opposition say Qaani played a principal role in managing the “Fatimiyoun Brigade,” a militia comprising Afghan Shia fighters formed in 2014 to participate in combat to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria.
Roles and Responsibilities
- Led the “21st Imam Reza Division” affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard in Khorasan Razavi Province (1984-1988) in the Iran-Iraq War.
- Commanded the “Nasr-5 Division” in 1988.
- Served as the deputy head of the Revolutionary Guard’s Joint Staff of Intelligence (2007-2008).
- Deputy commander of the Revolutionary Guard’s Quds Force (1997-2019).
- Took command of the Quds Force on January 3, 2020, succeeding the late General Qassem Soleimani.
Qaani and the Al-Aqsa Flood:
Following the Al-Aqsa Flood battle, led by the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades—the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas)—against settlements in the Gaza Envelope on October 7, 2023, Qaani sent a message to Muhammad Deif, the commander of the brigades. In the message, he stated that “your brothers in the Axis of Resistance are united with you, and they will not allow the enemy and those behind him to target Gaza and its people, and achieve their vile goals.”
He mentioned that Palestine and the region would not be the same after the Al-Aqsa Flood battle. He further added that within what he termed Iran’s continued protection and impactful support for the resistance, Iran would perform all that is required of it in this historic battle, according to the message.
