Iran’s Quds Force of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards got anew head, Esmail Qaani. The new commander of the shadowy squad was named by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei immediately aftermath of the killing of General Soleimani.
Esmail Qaani epitomizes a continuity choice at a hugely combustible moment for Tehran but the new commander lacks Soleimani’s charismatic aura.
As Malay Mail reports, Qaani’s promotion took place under the extremely hard situation when the killing of Soleimani in the US strike that raised the risk of open conflict with Washington to unprecedented levels.
Qaani used to serve his country as formerly Quds Force deputy commander, death of Soleimani made him a very important person in Iran. However, the political experts believe it will be not easy for Lt Gen Qaani to replace the late Soleimani who was seen by some as the de-facto number two in Iran.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei officially appointed Lieutenant General Esmail Qaani
Qaani joined the Revolutionary Guards as a young man at the onset of the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war. Appointing Qaani, Khamenei said the “orders remain exactly the same” for the Quds Force, part of the elite Revolutionary Guards and charged notably with its extraterritorial operations.
Qaani is a veteran of the grinding 1980-1988 war with Iraq which dominated the early years of the Islamic republic after the ousting of the pro-US shah and still marks its political culture today.
