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Iran’s Quds Force Chief Pens Letter to New Hezbollah Leader Vowing Support to Destroy Israel
Brigadier General Esmail Qaani, the head of the Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force, speaks during a ceremony in Tehran, Iran, April 14, 2022. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
The head of Iran’s elite military force responsible for Iranian proxies and terrorist operations abroad has written a letter to Hezbollah’s new leader, Naim Qassem, expressing unwavering support in their joint mission to destroy Israel.
“The Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps [IRGC] will remain alongside Hezbollah until the malignant Zionist tree [Israel] is uprooted and Palestine, along with holy al-Quds, is liberated,” Iranian Brigadier General Esmail Qaani wrote in the letter, according to Iranian and Lebanese media.
Another translation from Iran’s state-owned Press TV quoted Qaani — who leads the extraterritorial wing of the IRGC, an internationally designated terrorist organization — as saying to Qassem that “your brothers in the Quds Force will stand by Your Excellency and Hezbollah until the elimination and eradication of the evil lineage of Zionism and the freedom of Palestine.”
Qaani praised the appointment of Qassem as the new leader of Iran’s chief proxy in the Middle East and commemorated his predecessor, Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in September after heading the Lebanese terrorist organization for decades.
“By the grace of God, the resplendent and struggle-filled path of the martyrs will continue with more speed and strength under the management and leadership of Your Excellency,” Qaani wrote. “You are a seasoned and honorable fighter, widely respected among the noble fighters in the resistance.”
The Iranian commander added, “I pray to Almighty God that this enlightened and Jihadi path of the martyrs will continue under your leadership with greater strength and resolve.”
Hezbollah officially named Qassem, 67, as its new secretary general on Tuesday. He was appointed as the terrorist group’s deputy chief in 1991 and has been one of its leading spokesmen, conducting interviews with foreign media.
Shortly after Qassem’s appointment was announced, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant posted on X/Twitter, “Temporary appointment. Not for long,” along with a photo of the new Hezbollah chief as an apparent threat.
The Israeli government wrote a similar message on its official Arabic account on X: “His tenure in this position may be the shortest in the history of this terrorist organization if he follows in the footsteps of his predecessors … There is no solution in Lebanon except to dismantle this organization as a military force.”
Over the past several weeks, Israel has intensified its military operations against Hezbollah in neighboring Lebanon, where the terrorist group wields significant influence. Israel has significantly degraded Hezbollah’s rocket and missile stockpiles and killed much of its leadership, including not only Nasrallah but also others expected to replace him.
Hezbollah has been firing drones, missiles, and rockets at northern Israel almost daily since Oct. 8 of last year, one day after the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas — another Iranian proxy — invaded the Jewish state from the south and launched the ongoing war in Gaza.
About 70,000 Israelis have been forced to evacuate their homes in northern Israel amid the relentless Hezbollah attacks. Israel has vowed to do whatever is necessary, including military action, to ensure its displaced citizens can return to their communities.
Meanwhile, Qaani, 71, was reportedly questioned in recent weeks by Iranian authorities about apparent security breaches surrounding the killing of Nasrallah in Beirut, Lebanon.
According to the Middle East Eye, Iranian authorities have serious suspicions about a major security breach in Qaani’s office but do not seem to believe that Qaani was involved. The news outlet quoted sources as saying that Qaani’s “negligence” and “weak management” had “led to untrustworthy people entering his office,” adding that they may have been the cause of security breaches that led to Nasrallah’s death.
The Algemeiner could not independently verify these claims about potential breaches in Qaani’s office.
The post Iran’s Quds Force Chief Pens Letter to New Hezbollah Leader Vowing Support to Destroy Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.