Commander of Iran’s Quds Force Is ‘In Good Health’, Force’s Deputy Commander Says

Brigadier General Esmail Qaani, the head of the Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force, speaks during a ceremony marking the anniversary of the death of senior Iranian military commander Mohammad Hejazi, in Tehran, Iran April 14, 2022. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
Brigadier General Esmail Qaani, the head of the Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force, speaks during a ceremony marking the anniversary of the death of senior Iranian military commander Mohammad Hejazi, in Tehran, Iran April 14, 2022. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
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Commander of Iran’s Quds Force Is ‘In Good Health’, Force’s Deputy Commander Says

Brigadier General Esmail Qaani, the head of the Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force, speaks during a ceremony marking the anniversary of the death of senior Iranian military commander Mohammad Hejazi, in Tehran, Iran April 14, 2022. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
Brigadier General Esmail Qaani, the head of the Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force, speaks during a ceremony marking the anniversary of the death of senior Iranian military commander Mohammad Hejazi, in Tehran, Iran April 14, 2022. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters

The top commander of Iran's Quds Force Esmail Qaani is in "good health", the force's deputy commander Iraj Masjedi said on Monday, after Iranian security sources told Reuters he had been out of contact since strikes on Beirut last week.

"He is in good health and is carrying out his activities. Some ask us to issue a statement... there is no need for this", Masjedi was quoted as saying by state media in reference to Qaani.

One of the officials speaking to Reuters said Qaani was in Beirut's southern suburbs, known as the Dahiyeh, during a strike last week that was reported to have targeted senior Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine. The official said he was not meeting Safieddine.

Israel has been hitting multiple targets in Dahiyeh as it pursues a campaign against Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah.

Tehran named Qaani the head of the Revolutionary Guards Corps' overseas military-intelligence service after the United States assassinated his powerful predecessor Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike in Baghdad in 2020.

The Quds Force heavily influences its allied armed groups across the Middle East.



US Moving Fighter Jets to Middle East as Israel-Iran War Rages

This handout grab taken from footage released by the US Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) on June 11, 2025 shows the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) conducting flight operations in the South China Sea, on May 28, 2025. (AFP Photo / DVIDS / Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Edward Jacome - Handout)
This handout grab taken from footage released by the US Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) on June 11, 2025 shows the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) conducting flight operations in the South China Sea, on May 28, 2025. (AFP Photo / DVIDS / Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Edward Jacome - Handout)
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US Moving Fighter Jets to Middle East as Israel-Iran War Rages

This handout grab taken from footage released by the US Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) on June 11, 2025 shows the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) conducting flight operations in the South China Sea, on May 28, 2025. (AFP Photo / DVIDS / Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Edward Jacome - Handout)
This handout grab taken from footage released by the US Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) on June 11, 2025 shows the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) conducting flight operations in the South China Sea, on May 28, 2025. (AFP Photo / DVIDS / Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Edward Jacome - Handout)

The US military is deploying more fighter aircraft to the Middle East and extending the deployment of other warplanes, bolstering US military forces in the region as the war between Israel and Iran rages, three US officials said.

One of the officials said the deployments include F-16, F-22 and F-35 fighter aircraft.

Two of the officials stressed the defensive nature of the deployment of fighter aircraft, which have been used to shoot down drones and projectiles.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Reuters was first to report on Monday the movement of a large number of tanker aircraft to Europe as well as the deployment of an aircraft carrier to the Middle East, providing options to President Donald Trump as Middle East tensions soar.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described the deployments as defensive in nature, as Washington looks to safeguard forces in the Middle East from potential blowback from Iran and Iran-aligned forces in the region.

A fourth US defense official on Tuesday raised the possibility of the deployment to the Eastern Mediterranean of additional US Navy warships capable of shooting down ballistic missiles.

The United States already has a sizeable force in the Middle East, with nearly 40,000 troops in the region, including air defense systems, fighter aircraft and warships that can detect and shoot down enemy missiles.

Israel launched its air war, its largest ever on Iran, on Friday after saying it concluded Iran was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon.

Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons and has pointed to its right to nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, including enrichment, as a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.