Ismail Qaani

Commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Responsible for IRGC activities outside Iran’s borders and for directing Iran’s proxy forces across the Middle East. Born on August 17, 1957, in Mashhad. After the establishment of the Revolutionary Guards in 1979, he joined the organization and traveled from Mashhad to Tehran for training. He completed his military training at the Saadabad base (Imam Ali Base). In 1980, with the outbreak of unrest in Kurdistan, Qaani went to the region and participated in the clashes there. He was stationed in Khuzestan Province from early 1981 until the end of the Iran–Iraq War. In 1983, he was appointed commander of the 21st Brigade (Imam Reza) and served in this role until 1987. From 1987 until the end of the war, he served as commander of the 5th Division (Naser). After the war, the then-commander of the Revolutionary Guards, Mohsen Rezaei, appointed Qaani as deputy head of the 8th Operations Unit of the IRGC Ground Forces. For about a year, between 2006 and 2007, he served as deputy head of intelligence of the IRGC Joint Staff. In 2007, he was appointed deputy commander of the Quds Force under Qassem Soleimani and served in this role until 2019, when he was appointed to lead the unit following Soleimani’s assassination in a U.S. strike. For years, he has been involved in IRGC operations across the Middle East, especially in Syria and Iraq. He is less publicly visible than his predecessor, and his leadership is seen as a continuation of Soleimani’s policies, focusing on expanding Iran’s influence in regional conflicts and supporting Iran-backed militias.