In a message attributed to Ismail Qaani, commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, he announced his trip to the Iraqi capital Baghdad and announced that the trip was made with the aim of “expressing the appreciation and gratitude of the people and the Islamic Republic system” for the support of the Iraqi people and officials.
In this message, Ismail Qaani wrote that the Iraqi people have followed “Imam Hussein” in “resistance and steadfastness” and “Abul Fadl al-Abbas” in “loyalty.”
He also wrote in part of his message: “Iraq is too big for others, especially criminals against humanity, to interfere in its affairs. The selection of the prime minister will be made solely based on the Iraqi decision.”
The commander of the Quds Force has called for Iraq’s independence while in recent years, the Islamic Republic, the Revolutionary Guards, and the Quds Force have disrupted part of Iraq’s security by forming paramilitary groups, including “Hezbollah Brigades,” “Popular Mobilization Forces,” “Nujaba Movement,” “Badr Organization,” “Khorasani Brigades,” and “Elite Units,” and by providing them with funding and weapons.
This message from Ismail Qaani comes at a time when he has not appeared in public since the start of the war between Israel and the United States against the Islamic Republic, and no confirmed images or sounds of him have been released since the US attacks.
