The commander of Iran’s elite Quds Force, Esmail Qaani is under investigation for ties to Israel, according to media reports and had suffered a heart attack during interrogations.

“He was investigated for an intelligence brief, a source told Sky News Arabic. “He was moved to a hospital and his bureau chief is suspected of connections with Israel.”

Senior Iranian security officials said Qaani, who replaced איסמעיל קאאני, מפקד כוח קודס של איראן, בתיעוד בטהרן במשרד של חיזבאללה

Esmail Qaani with Abdullah Sefieddine in Tehran in what may be his last known photograph

Rumors about his fate spread quickly and varied between him having died to him being kept in isolation after the assassinations carried out by Israel on prominent Iranian leaders. According to a report published in the Saudi Al Hadath channel Qaani had recently met with Nasrallah and Fuad Shukr, Hezbollah’s operations chief who was also assassinated by Israel

The channel said he backed out of his original plan to attend the high-level Hezbollah meeting that was then targeted by the IDF and that led to increased suspicion.

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