Update 12/11: Alas, it appears our friend Qassem Soleimani was not killed in Syria as his continued existence has been confirmed by multiple sources.

Iran’s semi-official Fars News service has spent the last 48 hours denying the death of IRGC Quds Force commander, Major General Qassem Soleimani. Unidentified anti-regime forces fighting near Aleppo claimed to have killed Soleimani on Saturday, but provided no evidence to back their claim. Fars News cites the Israeli website Debka for having made the additional claim that Soleimani was killed by an anti-tank missile that destroyed his vehicle, but again no video or photo evidence was provided, and there is no mention of Soleimani’s death on the Debka site as of Tuesday, Nov. 24.

Iran has not hesitated in the past to acknowledge the death of senior IRGC officers killed outside Iran. In October, Soleimani’s deputy, General Hossein Hamedani, was killed in Syria near Aleppo. Iranian media quickly announced his death and issued the usual glowing testimonials to his devoted service to the regime. In January another IRGC senior officer, Brigadier General Mohammad Ali Allah-Dadi, was killed near the Golan Heights in southern Syria, an attack Iran blamed on Israel.

But Soleimani is not just any IRGC general officer. He has been the commander of the Quds Force since the mid-1990s, and has seemingly been everywhere in the Middle East over the last 15 years. His exploits in Iraq are well known, both before and after the U.S. withdrawal, and he has been active in Syria for at least two years. He reports only to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, making him one of the most senior members of the regime’s numerous inner circle. So it is entirely conceivable Iran would not want to admit to his death in Syria.

Iran has so far declined to provide proof that Soleimani is still alive, but this would be a standard counter-intelligence step to avoid giving away his location. If he is in fact alive and well, Iran will likely provide proof in the next week or so. In the meantime, we can all hope…