The story: In Iran, conservative media have hailed the public appearance of Quds Force Commander Esmail Qa’ani, mocking foreign and opposition outlets over speculations about his absence from the public eye. In recent weeks, foreign-based outlets reported that Qa’ani had possibly been killed or injured in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut. Rumors subsequently emerged that he was being questioned as part of a counter-intelligence probe.
These dynamics have given rise to claims that the Islamic Republic may have carried out a disinformation operation to confuse its critics and undermine their credibility.
The coverage: More than two weeks after rumors of his death in an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon, Qa’ani made a public appearance in Tehran on Oct. 15.
Qa’ani emerged at a funeral ceremony for Abbas Nilforoushan, the deputy commander of operations for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and acting head of Quds Force operations in the Levant. Nilforoushan was killed in a Sept. 27 Israeli airstrike that also claimed the life of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.
Qa’ani’s absence at public events had triggered speculations in Arab and western media about his fate and whereabouts.
Iranian outlets were quick to seize the opportunity to deride foreign-based media over claims that the Quds Force commander was possibly dead or being questioned.
Shahrvand newspaper, run by the Iranian Red Crescent, highlighted the importance of media literacy and warned of “psychological warfare” targeting Iranian society.
Government-run daily Iran on Oct. 16 described Qa’ani’s public appearance as a “scandal” for Israel and questioned the credibility of Israeli media. Hardline daily Kayhan echoed this sentiment while conservative Khorasan underscored “a failure of Mossad’s media project.”
The state broadcaster’s Jam-e Jam daily said Qa’ani’s presence at a public function was “the manifestation of the Zionists’ nightmare,” a message that the conservative Farhikhtegan newspaper also shared.
Several other hardline outlets praised Qa’ani for supposedly “toying” with “Zionist media” while conservative papers Agah and Vatan-e Emrooz hailed the Quds Force commander for “outsmarting” what they called Israeli and Israel-backed outlets. IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News Agency also relayed the same perception.
Foreign-based Persian-language networks that are critical of the Islamic Republic have also come under fire.
Semi-official ISNA news agency accused London-based Persian-language Iran International TV of “lying” and collated reactions from pro-establishment users who celebrated Qa’ani’s appearance.
The state broadcaster’s news channel IRIB aired an extended report featuring footage of foreign-based Persian-language news channels speculating on the fate of Qa’ani, dismissing the outlets as “discredited.”
Conservative Fars News Agency published a list of what it called “10 lies” allegedly spread by “counter-revolutionary outlets” during the Quds Force chief’s media absence.
Tehran Municipality-run Hamshahri noted that multiple foreign outlets speculated about Qa’ani’s fate during his absence and criticized their “vague silence” after his public appearance.
Taking a less combative approach, pro-reform newspapers Hammihan and Ebtekar noted “an end” to the “rumors” with Qa’ani’s return to the public stage.
Foreign-based dissident Shahram Hmayoun suggested that the rumors about Qa’ani’s fate may have actually been pushed by the Iranian authorities.
Homayoun argued that the Islamic Republic allegedly goaded opposition outlets into engaging in wild speculations in order to discredit their reputation.
Other critics of the Islamic Republic expressed the same view, particularly accusing Iran International TV of effectively helping the Iranian state with pushing out fake news to distract from other events.
Delighted about Qa’ani’s public appearance, pro-establishment users on social media mocked critics who had speculated about his fate.
Some users on Twitter/X joked that Qa’ani had taken a break from being interrogated and tortured to attend the event. Their comments alluded to rumors that he had been detained and questioned by the IRGC for allegedly helping Israel in the killing of Nasrallah.
Others joked that Qa’ani was still missing and that a look-alike had taken his place.
The context/analysis: Speculation about the fate of Qa’ani initially began in the days after Israel’s killing of Nasrallah and Nilforoushan in Beirut.
Israeli media on Oct. 5 reported that the Quds Force commander had been either injured or killed in an Israeli attack in the Lebanese capital. The next day, Reuters cited unnamed Iranian officials as saying that they had lost contact with Qa’ani.
On Oct. 10, Middle East Eye claimed to have spoken to 10 sources across the region who said Qa’ani was being questioned over security lapses that led to Nasrallah’s killing. On the same day, Sky News Arabia cited anonymous Iranian sources as saying that Qa’ani had suffered a heart attack while being interrogated.
London-based Iran International TV gave prominent coverage to the varied speculations about Qa’ani’s fate.
Prior to the public appearance of the Quds Force chief, both media and officials in Iran sought to counter the claims about his possible death or detention.
In what at the time appeared to be an attempt to dispel speculations, a brief message supposedly from Qa’ani was read at a pro-Palestine event in Tehran on Oct. 7.
Brig. Gen. Ebrahim Jabbari, an advisor to IRGC chief commander Hossein Salami, said on Oct. 9 that Qa’ani was in good health and due to receive the Fath (Conquest) medal—one of the highest military honors in the Islamic Republic.
In a satirical piece taking a dig at the Middle East Eye report that cited 10 sources, Tasnim News Agency on Oct. 10 said that it had spoken to 20 sources who confirmed that Qa’ani was safe and sound.
Iran is not a stranger to disinformation tactics, having seemingly employed them with the aim to mislead foreign and opposition media and later discredit their reporting.
At the height of nationwide anti-establishment protests in Nov. 2022, Iran’s state broadcaster sent a fake video to foreign-based Persian-language outlets claiming that shops had gone on strike. State television later reported about how reputable outlets had fallen for the trick.
In Jan. 2023, some argued that Iran had started rumors about the assassination of controversial judge Abolqasem Salavati in a bid to distract from the execution of two protesters arrested during the 2022 unrest.
The future: Amid rising tension with Israel and given that Qa’ani’s predecessor Qasem Soleimani was assassinated by the US in Iraq in 2020, it is not surprising for his whereabouts to be kept under wraps.
Having pledged retaliation for Iran’s Oct. 1 missile strike, Israel likely has Qa’ani in its crosshairs, having already killed several senior IRGC commanders since the start of the Gaza war in Oct. 2023.
Qa’ani will probably disappear from the public eye again as Iran is likely to step up efforts to ensure his safety. The Quds Force commander’s death in an Israeli operation inside Iran would deal a significant blow to the credibility of the Islamic Republic’s security apparatus.
Source » amwaj.media