The commander of Iran’s elite Quds Force expands his predecessor’s vision of chaos in the Middle East

Most Americans have probably never heard of him Email Ghaaniregardless that his fingerprints exceeded approx lots of recent attacks for American purposes.

As the powerful head of the Quds Force, Iran’s unconventional warfare wing Islamic Revolutionary Guard CorpsGhaani is accused of overseeing a network of Tehran’s allied and proxy groups across the Middle East.

But despite recent media attention following a big increase in the number of attacks by Quds-backed militants since the attack in Israel on October 7, 2023. Ghaani stays a figure who largely avoids the public highlight.

This is each similar and different from his predecessor Qassem Soleimani, who died on controversial US strike in Iraq in 2020.

During the first decade of his service as commander of the Quds Force, which began in the late Nineteen Nineties, Soleimani also kept a low profile. However, in the years leading as much as his death in 2020, he promoted his achievements openly on social media.

The loss of Soleimani was considered an enormous blow to the Quds Force and Iran’s national security program in general, given his popularity in Iran and his track record, making the task of replacing him a frightening one. Ghaani was Soleimani’s deputyand the two had known one another since the early Nineteen Eighties military service during the Iran-Iraq war.

Experts questioned the issue in the initial aftermath of Soleimani’s death whether Ghaani could be a capable successor.

However, although he differs from Soleimani in each personality and approach to promoting, Ghaani has managed to develop the foundations that Soleimani has fastidiously nurtured over 20 years.

Under Ghaani, the Quds Force has redoubled its efforts on strategies to support, arm, and finance terrorist and insurgent groups in Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, Afghanistan, and the Palestinian territories.

Building on Soleimani’s legacy, Ghaani is chargeable for developing the network into what Iranian officials call “Axis of Resistance“

This is a coalition that breaks down ethnic and spiritual divisions in the region, regardless that Iran itself stays a tough theocracy with Persian and Shiite ethnic identities. In developing this network, first Soleimani and now Ghaani have demonstrated a certain pragmatism and suppleness that’s at odds with the extreme ideological stance of Iran’s ruling ayatollahs. Ghaani, like Soleimani before him, appears to have done so with the full confidence and support of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Pressure on Iran’s enemies

How national security expert specializing in counterterrorism, I watched how the Quds Force operated unconventional war strategy modified the security landscape in the region. It is predicated on putting pressure on Iran’s enemies – Israel, the US and Saudi Arabia – through cooperation with groups inside the axis.

As commander of the Quds Force, Ghaani must manage his organization’s relationships with each of these groups. This is made all the more complicated by the incontrovertible fact that each maintains its own agendas, calculations in making decisions, and at times maintains independence despite Iran’s influence and largesse.

Take, for instance, the Quds Force’s relationship with Hamas. Despite it required so much of planning with the horrific attacks by Hamas in Israel in October 2023, the Quds Force doesn’t appear to have played a direct role.

Not that Ghaani didn’t welcome the attack, at the least publicly. At the end of December 2023 as stated on Iran’s official news agency that “Due to the extensive crimes committed by the Zionist regime against Muslims in Palestine, it (Hamas) itself has taken action. (…) Everything they did was beautifully planned and executed.”

With other militant groups in the region, Ghaani appears to have a more hands-on approach. Deadly January 28, 2024, drone attack against a US military facility in Jordan, launched by the Iraqi-based and Iran-backed Islamic Resistance Movement in Iraq network, has significantly increased tensions in the region.

This triggered a significant response from the US and UK in Iraq and Syria. After the incident it was reported that Ghaani put in so much of effort persuading Iraqi groups to temporarily halt attacks against the US.

Whether the pause lasts longer or attacks resume will likely be a test of Ghaani’s ability to make use of his influence in Iraq.

Ghaani’s calculus with respect to Yemen, where the Houthis have emerged as a dangerous insurgent group, appears less clear.

Armed by Iran’s decade-long civil war, the Houthis responded to Israel’s campaign in Gaza carrying out a whole bunch of rocket, missile and drone attacks against industrial and military shipping in the Red Sea.

Retaliatory strikes by the US and other coalition members for Houthi goals destroyed much of the potential provided by Iran. However, the Houthis seem fearless and continued to take motion to forestall shipment.

It is unclear whether Ghaani was attempting to halt these operations or encouraged the Houthis to take care of their momentum, given Iran and the Houthis’ shared goals of maintaining pressure on the United States and Israel.

Relations with Hezbollah

In addition to Israel, Iraq and Yemen, Ghaani can be likely attempting to manage the Quds Force relationship with Lebanon’s Hezbollah, probably Iran’s strongest partner in the Axis of Resistance. The partnership dates back to the early Nineteen Eighties and has transformed Hezbollah into a robust force in Lebanon and a serious security threat in the region.

Since October 7, the group has engaged in almost day by day conflict with Israel, with either side carrying out cross-border attacks. Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah appears wary of engaging in a wider war with Israel, but at the same time he doesn’t stop attacks and he announced revenge on Israel for the deaths of civilians in Lebanon.

While Iran may welcome Hezbollah, which has grow to be a relentless irritant for Israel, Tehran also fears a full-scale conflict. In such a scenario, Nasrallah, Ghaani and Supreme Leader Khamenei would must worry about whether the United States would get entangled directly – as the White House reportedly I used to be considering just a few days after the attack on Israel on October 7.

Any future statements by Ghaani regarding Hezbollah will likely be a transparent indicator of Iran’s intentions in the way it sees this volatile aspect of Middle East tensions developing.

Walking the tightrope

So far, Ghaani appears to have successfully navigated the transition between replacing the charismatic figure of Qassem Soleimani and advancing Iran’s interests through Quds Force operations with Khameini’s full support.

He may never have been as respected in Iran as Soleimani, but in managing the Quds Force’s relationship with Axis of Resistance groups, Ghaani has proven himself to be a formidable and capable adversary who shouldn’t be underestimated.

The recent escalation of multi-faceted tensions in the Middle East has created each opportunities and potential pitfalls for Ghaani’s strategy of encouraging his Axis of Resistance while isolating Iran from any direct attack by the United States.

But one thing is becoming clear: Reversing the influence of the Quds Force while strengthening U.S. interests will likely be Washington’s top political priority because it tries to administer the evolving conflict in the Middle East.