Iran Appoints Esmail Qaani as Commander, Succeeding General Killed in Air Strike

A demonstrator holds a picture of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei with Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani, during protest against the killing of Soleimani, head of the elite Quds Force, and Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis who were killed in an air strike in Baghdad airport, in Tehran, Iran on Jan. 3, 2020. WANA/Nazanin Tabatabaee via Reuters

Brigadier General Esmail Qaani was appointed the new commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force after the United States killed Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad, Iraq.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei appointed Qaani less than 12 hours after Soleimani was killed, reported Radio Farda. Khamenei said in a decree that the new commander is “one of the most distinguished Revolutionary Guard commanders.”