Viral image of Iranian Brigadier General Esmail Qaani in a burqa is edited

What's being claimed?

An alleged image of Esmail Qaani, a Brigadier General in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), wearing a burqa has been shared online with the claim that Qaani is walking around in disguise "in fear of Israel." 

The claim emerged after Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed, reportedly by a short-range projectile in Tehran on July 31, 2024. Iran and Hamas have alleged Israel was responsible. Israel has not claimed responsibility, Reuters reports. 

A Facebook user shared the image (archived here) with the caption, "This is the cowardly rat, Esmail Qaani, the 'commander of the Revolutionary Guards,' walking around, dressed as a woman - because he is afraid that the Israelis will find him.#PuffAndHesGone." The same image was shared on X (formerly Twitter), and an archive of the post can be found here. We were also able to find the claim on TikTok using Logically Facts® Accelerate, a tool that enables proactive discovery of fact-check-worthy content on platforms.

Screenshots of the image shared online. (Source: Facebook/X/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, the image going viral now is fake. The original shows Esmail Qaani wearing a black cap, not a burqa.

Here are the facts

We found the original image shared by Tasnim News (archived here) on February 11, 2024, through a reverse image search. The image caption reads, "The presence of Haj Esmail Qaani in the #March_22_of_Bahman (Translated from Persian)." The image shows Qaani wearing a black cap and black eyeglasses, not a burqa. The people around him match those in the viral photo. 

The viral image and Tasnim News image, where similarities are marked in blue and yellow and differences are in red. (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

The Islamic Republic News Agency also published the original image in a news report dated February 11, 2024.

The image was captioned, "Sardar Qaani, commander of the Quds Force, attended the march on 22 Bahman. (translated by Persian)." The report adds that Iranians participated in the march on 22 Bahman, held in Tehran and other cities on February 11, 2024. (22 Bahman refers to the 22 days of the Bahman month (Eleventh month), according to the Persian calendar, which refers to February 11 in the Georgian calendar.) The annual march commemorates Iran's Islamic revolution in 1979, when the monarchy was overthrown and the Islamic Republic was established.

Many Iranian officials, including the Vice President for Science, Technology, and Economics, Danesh Baniyan, Javad Ojee, the oil minister, and Sardar Qaani, commander of the Quds Force, appeared at the march. Khabar Online News also published the same image in its report.

The Tehran Press posted images of Qaani from a different angle from the march, and this, too, shows him wearing a black cap, not a burqa.

Screenshot of Esmail Qaani's image from the Iranian Revolutionary march held in February 2024. (Source: Tehran Press)

The verdict

The image of Iranian Brigadier General Esmail Qaani is digitally altered to show him wearing a burqa.