Quds Force chief reportedly missing since Beirut strikes

Esmail Qaani, the commander of Iran's Quds Force, has been unreachable since Israeli air strikes targeted Beirut last week, according to two senior Iranian security officials who spoke to Reuters.

Qaani had traveled to Lebanon following the assassination of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli air strike last month.

Sources indicate he was in the Dahiyeh area during the strikes on Thursday, which reportedly aimed at Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine, but he was not meeting with Safieddine at the time.

Since the attacks, Iran and Hezbollah have lost contact with Qaani. The Quds Force, which is part of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, manages relationships with allied militias across the Middle East, including Hezbollah.

Notably, Brigadier General Abbas Nilforoushan, another senior figure in the Revolutionary Guards, was killed alongside Nasrallah during the Israeli bombing of their bunker on September 27.