Member of the National Security Commission: Raisi Used a Pager; Israel Has the Upper Hand

Less than a week after the deadly explosion of pagers and radios belonging to Hezbollah agents, which left dozens dead and thousands injured, a member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Islamic Consultative Assembly stated that the Iranian government was involved in the purchase of pagers for Hezbollah and that Ebrahim Raisi, the Islamic Republic's president who was killed in a helicopter accident, was using "a type of pager." Ahmad Bakhshaei Ardestani said on Sunday that "Israel has the upper hand both in technology and foresight," adding: "One of the plausible scenarios regarding the incident that befell our late president is the explosion of his pager." Last month, about four months after the death of Ebrahim Raisi and his companions in a helicopter crash, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic announced that it was investigating the "possibility of the helicopter being targeted by offensive and defensive systems, electronic warfare, and the creation of a magnetic and laser field," but ruled out "any involvement of the aforementioned factors in the occurrence of the incident." Ahmad Bakhshaei Ardestani considered Israel's actions in the field of intelligence and espionage, as well as its infiltration into Hezbollah and the intelligence apparatus of the Islamic Republic of Iran, to be "completely natural." He attributed the leak of the residence of Ibrahim Aqil, the commander of Hezbollah's Radwan unit, and the deadly attack on his gathering and other senior leaders of the group on Friday to "certainly stemming from infiltration into Hezbollah," adding: "There is no doubt that Hezbollah has been contaminated by infiltration." This member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Islamic Consultative Assembly pointed to the explosion of the pager used by the Iranian ambassador in Lebanon, stating that this indicates the Islamic Republic's involvement in the purchase of Hezbollah's pagers. The escalation of conflicts between Hezbollah and Israel followed the continuation of rocket and drone attacks by Hezbollah on Israel and the explosion of this group's communication devices last Tuesday and Wednesday, which resulted in nearly 40 deaths, mostly among members of this proxy arm of the Islamic Republic, and 3,000 others injured. Although these explosions have been attributed to Israel, the country has taken a "neither confirm nor deny" position in this regard. On Friday, Israel targeted the gathering place of senior Hezbollah commanders under a residential building in the Dahieh neighborhood of Beirut, where several senior commanders of the group, including Ibrahim Aqil, commander of the Radwan force, and Ahmad Wahbi, a senior military commander of the group, were killed. The Israeli army published the names and images of 12 Radwan unit commanders who were killed in this attack on Saturday. Israeli officials have repeatedly stated over the past year that they will ensure security in their northern regions by any means possible, whether diplomatic or military. Israel is demanding Hezbollah's withdrawal from the border areas of Lebanon with Israel. So far, diplomatic efforts to push Hezbollah back across the Litani River, 30 kilometers from the shared border of Israel and Lebanon based on UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah in the summer of 2006, have failed. Hezbollah Lebanon was established in 1982 by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Several countries, including the United States, Israel, Germany, Serbia, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, and Australia, have recognized the group as a terrorist organization. Recognizing Hezbollah as a terrorist organization means not distinguishing between its political and military branches and labeling both as terrorist entities. The President of Israel stated: "Hezbollah has been armed to the teeth by the 'evil empire' of the Iranian government." Netanyahu: "We have dealt blows to Hezbollah that they did not expect." Claims by Hezbollah of rocket attacks on northern Israel; the army says all rockets were intercepted. Axios: American officials hope that Israeli military pressure on Hezbollah will lead to a diplomatic agreement. Germany has called for immediate actions to reduce tensions in the Middle East. Channel 12 of Israeli television: The pagers of Hezbollah agents were deliberately produced and exploded. Continued attacks on Hezbollah and new restrictions in northern Israel; Gallant: Killing Hezbollah leaders was a personal reckoning for me as well. The White House's reaction to the killing of the commander of Hezbollah's Radwan unit: Justice has been served. Hungary states that the pagers used in the explosions in Lebanon were not made in this country. Hezbollah confirmed the killing of 16 of its members in the Israeli attack on Beirut on Friday.