Iran’s Quds Force commander, Esmail Qaani, issued a direct threat against Israel on Thursday, demanding the immediate withdrawal of IDF forces from southern Lebanon and warning that if Israel does not leave voluntarily, it will eventually be forced to “flee in shame, humiliation and crushing defeat.”

Speaking in remarks widely broadcast by Iranian state media, Qaani declared that “Lebanon is a land of steadfastness and resistance, not a playground for occupiers.”

“Israel must withdraw from Lebanon immediately,” he said. “If it does not leave now of its own accord, it will eventually be forced to flee in shame, humiliation, and overwhelming defeat.”

Qaani heads the Quds Force, the overseas arm of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps responsible for supporting and directing Tehran’s network of proxy terrorist organizations throughout the Middle East, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen.

His remarks come amid continued fighting along Israel’s northern border and conflicting reports regarding a possible Israeli withdrawal from parts of southern Lebanon.

Earlier Thursday, a senior U.S. official told Reuters that Israel had begun pulling back from some areas in southern Lebanon, allowing the Lebanese Armed Forces to deploy. However, senior Israeli security officials quickly denied the report.

“The IDF has not withdrawn from any part of the security zone,” a senior Israeli security official said. “The IDF has received no such instructions from the political leadership.”

The contradictory reports come as the United States continues to mediate negotiations aimed at reaching a long-term arrangement between Israel and Lebanon.

Qaani has kept a relatively low public profile since the start of the war, appearing only occasionally through written statements. He has repeatedly praised Hezbollah and other Iranian-backed terror groups while threatening Israel with continued attacks.

He assumed command of the Quds Force in 2020 after the U.S. eliminated his predecessor, Qassem Soleimani, in a drone strike in Iraq.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)