Iran's Quds Force chief has not been in contact since Beirut airstrike, two Iranian officials say By Reuters

(Reuters) – Iran's Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani, who traveled to Lebanon after Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah was killed last month in an Israeli attack, has not been heard from since the strikes in Beirut late last week, two senior security officials said. in Iran. Reuters.

One of the officials said that Qaani was in the southern area of ​​Beirut, known as Dahiyeh, when there was a strike that reportedly targeted Hezbollah's top official Hashem Safieddine, but this official said that he did not meet Safieddine.

The official said that Iran and Hezbollah have not been able to contact Qaani since then.

Israel has been hitting multiple targets in Dahiyeh as it pursues a campaign against the Iranian-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah.

The second official also said that Qaani went to Lebanon after Nasrallah's assassination and Iranian authorities have not been able to contact him since the strike by Safieddine, who was expected to be the next leader of Hezbollah.

Hezbollah has not commented so far on Safieddine.

Asked about reports that Qaani may have been killed in an Israeli strike in Beirut, Israeli army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani said the results of the strikes are still being investigated.

He said Israel carried out an attack late last week against Hezbollah's intelligence headquarters in Beirut.

“If we have the exact results of that strike, we will share them. There are many questions about who was there and who was not,” he said while speaking at a press conference.

The Quds Force, the overseas wing of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, oversees cooperation with Tehran-allied forces across the Middle East, such as Hezbollah.

The Commander of the Revolutionary Guards of Iran Brigadier General Abbas Nilforoushan was killed with Nasrallah in his bedroom when he was hit by Israeli bombs on September 27.