Pager Explosion: Conflicting Reports on the Health Status of Iran's Ambassador to Lebanon

Following reports of serious injuries and even blindness of Iran's ambassador in Beirut after the explosion of pagers used by Hezbollah, the Iranian embassy in Beirut denied these claims. On Tuesday, September 17, after news broke of the explosion of approximately five thousand pagers used by members and rescuers of Hezbollah, a video was released showing Mojtaba Amani being taken to the hospital. In the footage, he was seen with a bloodied shirt and white bandages over his eyes. In the initial reports after the video was released, the Kayhan newspaper wrote on its Telegram channel that 'reports indicate that contrary to claims of superficial injuries to the Iranian ambassador in Lebanon, his face and eyes have been seriously damaged.' In addition to Hossein Soleimani, the editor of the Mashregh News website, who wrote on X that 'the Iranian ambassador's eye has been severely damaged,' the Tasnim news agency, close to the Revolutionary Guards, also reported from an informed source that Mojtaba Amani was injured in the explosion of a pager belonging to one of his bodyguards, affecting his hand and face. However, the Iranian embassy in Lebanon stated on its X account: 'Mr. Amani's treatment is progressing well, and the rumors about his physical condition and vision are unfounded.' Previously, Narges Ghadirian, the ambassador's wife, tweeted that 'thank God Mr. Amani's treatment is going well.' On Wednesday, September 28, almost all media in Iran, including Tasnim and Kayhan, reported on the 'favorable' physical condition of Mojtaba Amani based on the embassy's report. Pirhossein Kolivand, head of the Iranian Red Crescent Society, who traveled to Beirut with a medical team, also reported on visiting Mojtaba Amani and stated without details that 'thank God his condition is stable.' He also mentioned sending several injured individuals from this explosion to Iran, which has sparked reactions on Persian-language social media. Domestic media in Iran report that hospitals in Iran are prepared to receive eye-injured patients from Lebanon. Jafar Miadfar, head of Iran's Emergency Organization, announced coordination with the airport for the transfer of the injured and stated that 'four ambulance buses and thirty ambulances have been arranged for the transfer of these injured from the airport to Tehran hospitals.' Some users reacted to the transfer of eye-injured victims of the Hezbollah pager explosion to Iran, noting that after the 'Women, Life, Freedom' protests, many eye-injured individuals were forced to leave the country for continued treatment. Some of them were summoned, arrested, and even imprisoned for exposing their conditions and protesting against the violence of government forces. In the early hours of Tuesday, September 27, in the pager explosions in several areas of Lebanon, at least eleven people were killed and about four thousand others, including hundreds of Hezbollah members, fighters, and rescuers, were injured. Reports indicate that most of the pager owners suffered injuries to their face, eyes, and hands.