Mossad Breaks Silence: ‘Qaani Is Not Our Spy’ in Rare Public Denial
Mossad publicly denied rumors that Iran’s Quds Force commander, Esmail Qaani, is an Israeli spy, countering speculation fueled by his brief absence and Israel’s precise strikes on Iranian targets. The statement, posted on X, reflects Israel’s ongoing psychological campaign against Iran amid a fragile ceasefire and heightened regional tensions.
Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency issued a rare public statement today to quash persistent rumors that Brig. Gen. Esmail Qaani, commander of Iran’s elite Quds Force, had been recruited as an Israeli asset. In a concise six-word post in Farsi on its official X account, @MossadSpokesman, which has garnered over 140,000 followers since the June 24, 2025, ceasefire between Israel and Iran, the agency declared, “قاآنی جاسوس ما نیست” (“Qaani is not our spy”). The statement aimed to silence speculation fueled by fringe media and tabloids, which intensified after Qaani’s brief absence from public view during Israel’s covert airstrikes in late 2024 targeting Iranian assets and Hezbollah leaders in Beirut.
Rumors suggested Qaani, 62, was detained, tortured, or even died of a heart attack “during questioning” by Iranian security forces, with some claiming he leaked targeting data to Israel. Others speculated he was under house arrest. These theories gained momentum following Israel’s Operation Rising Lion, launched on June 13, 2025, which destroyed Iranian missile depots and nuclear sites with pinpoint accuracy, prompting whispers of an inside source within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Iran dismissed these as “psychological warfare,” and Qaani’s appearance at a Tehran rally on June 25, smiling and engaging with civilians, was a clear rebuttal to claims of his demise or disloyalty. Iranian state media emphasized he appeared “in good health.”
Qaani, who succeeded Qassem Soleimani after his 2020 death in a U.S. drone strike, oversees Iran’s proxy militias, including Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthis, and faces U.S. and EU terrorism sanctions. Mossad’s statement aligns with its recent psychological operations, such as taunting Iranian officials on X for following its account. The denial underscores Israel’s strategic use of information warfare to destabilize Iran’s regime, which arrested over 700 suspected spies since June 13, reflecting heightened paranoia post-ceasefire.