TEHRAN, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- A senior Iranian military adviser on Wednesday dismissed reports that Esmaeil Qaani, chief commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps' (IRGC) Quds Force, had been harmed in a recent Israeli airstrike in Beirut.
Ebrahim Jabari, an adviser to the IRGC's chief commander, stated that Qaani is "in full health" during an international conference in Tehran.
Jabari's comments came in response to speculation in Israeli and Western media that Qaani may have been "wounded or killed" in the attack on the Lebanese capital late Thursday, according to Iran's official news agency IRNA.
"Brigadier General Qaani is in full health and will receive the Order of Fath (Conquest) from Iran's leader in the coming days," Jabari said.
On Monday, IRNA reported that Qaani had sent a message to a conference on Palestinian children in Tehran, apologizing for his absence due to another important meeting.
The same day, Iraj Masjedi, deputy commander of the IRGC's Quds Force for Coordination Affairs, noted that Qaani was "well and busy doing his activities."
Speculation about Qaani's condition began after Israel's Channel 12 reported on Saturday that he may have been caught in the airstrike on Beirut's Dahieh neighborhood. The attack reportedly targeted Hashem Safieddine, a Lebanese Shia cleric considered a potential successor to the late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. ■
