Esmail Qaani

Sardar

Esmail Qaani
Sardar; Esmail Qaani
	Qaani in 2020
Native name	اسماعیل قاآنی
Born	8 August 1957; Mashhad, Pahlavi Iran
Allegiance	Iran
Branch	IRGC
Service years	1980–present
Rank	Brigadier general
Unit	Quds Force
Commands	Quds Force (2020–present)
Known for	Commander of Quds Force; successor to Qasem Soleimani
Conflicts	Kurdish Rebellion (1979) (WIA); Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988); Afghan Civil War (1996–2001); Iraq War (2003–2011); War in Iraq (2013–2017); Syrian civil war (2011–2024); 2024 Iran–Israel conflict; 2025 Iran–Israel war;
Awards	Order of Fath (2nd Class); Iran–Iraq War Veteran Honors; Distinguished Service Medal (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps);

Esmail Qaani (also rendered as Ismail Qaani; Persian: اسماعیل قاآنی, romanized: Esmāʾil Qāʾānī;‎ 8 August 1957) is an Iranian brigadier general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) who serves as the commander of the IRGC Quds Force, an elite special operations force responsible for extraterritorial operations. Qaani succeeded Qasem Soleimani as Quds Force commander after Soleimani was assassinated in January 2020.