Iran’s IRGC Quds Force Leader Shows Up In Tehran Streets After Reports Of His Death

A week ago there were widespread reports and rumors that Israeli airstrikes and targeted assassinations in Iran had killed Esmail Qaani, who in 2020 had succeeded the top Iranian IRGC Quds Force general Qassem Soleimani, killed by a US strike in Baghdad.

But on Tuesday Qaani appeared before crowds in Tehran, as Iranians take to the streets to support the military and assert their defiance following Israeli and US bombs falling on the country during the current ceasefire.

„Several news outlets affiliated with Iran-allied groups, including the Houthis’ Al Masirah TV, have shared footage they say shows Esmail Qaani, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’s Quds Force, among the rallying crowds in Tehran,” Al Jazeera writes.

„If confirmed, the videos would dispel reports that Qaani was assassinated by Israel,” the report concludes.

Below is video which disproves (assuming it is not a deepfake or impersonator) that Qaani was not killed in an Israeli airstrike last week:

Iran’s Quds Force commander Qaani reportedly shows up in Tehran. Iranian state media says he is alive. pic.twitter.com/U1t5siDJcP

— Clash Report (@clashreport) June 24, 2025

This latest flare-up in fighting between Israel and Iran is actually not the first time Qaani has falsely been reported dead.

Israeli broadcasters are featuring the video of his appearance Tuesday in Iranian streets, after the initial claim spread quickly in Israeli media…

תיעוד: איסמאעיל קאאני, מפקד כוח קודס במשמרות המהפכה, השתתף ב”חגיגות הניצחון” בטהראן – ובכך הזים את הדיווחים על חיסולו @OmerShahar123 pic.twitter.com/ieFP9atcxi

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) June 24, 2025

Like with Russia-Ukraine, the fog of war is thick in the Iranian theatre, and there is evidence that both sides have national censors which are cracking down on what information gets shared, after some 12-days of exchanging deadly airstrikes and missile fire.