Pager Explosions in Lebanon; Suspension of Foreign Flights to Tehran and Tel Aviv, Continued Reactions

Following coordinated explosions of handheld communication devices across Lebanon targeting Hezbollah members, and the harsh statements from Hezbollah leaders and Iranian officials, airlines belonging to the Lufthansa group and Air France announced on Tuesday that they have suspended flights to parts of the Middle East for security reasons. In this regard, Lufthansa stated that its airlines have suspended all flights to and from Tel Aviv and Tehran at least until Thursday. The company’s statement read: "During this time, the airspace of Israel and Iran will also be bypassed by all airlines of the Lufthansa group." The Lufthansa group airlines include not only German Lufthansa but also Swiss, Austrian, Brussels Airlines, and Eurowings. Flights to Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, remain suspended at least until September 30 due to ongoing conflicts in the region. The newspaper "Le Parisien" reported that Air France has also announced the suspension of its flights from Paris to Tel Aviv and Beirut. On Tuesday evening, September 17, pager explosions occurred in several areas of Lebanon, resulting in many casualties among Hezbollah members, including fighters and rescuers. A senior Lebanese security source and another source told Reuters that "the Israeli intelligence agency, Mossad, had embedded explosives inside five thousand pagers imported by Hezbollah months before the explosions on Tuesday." Why does Hezbollah use pagers? According to the latest information provided by Firas Al-Abiad, Lebanon's Minister of Health, following these explosions, 12 people were killed and about 2800 were injured. He added that surgeries were performed on 460 of the injured, most of whom suffered eye injuries. The Minister of Health also stated that the health condition of about 300 of the injured is critical, with 2780 people being transferred to hospitals within half an hour, and currently, 100 hospitals in Lebanon are involved in treating the wounded. This operation, which represented an unprecedented security breach for Hezbollah, also resulted in the injury of the Iranian ambassador in Beirut. According to the Tasnim news agency, the pager that exploded and injured Mojtaba Amani, the Iranian ambassador in Lebanon, belonged to his bodyguard. Iranian officials have denied initial reports that Mojtaba Amani was blinded. The IRNA news agency also reported that doctors and nurses from Iran, along with the head of the Iranian Red Crescent Society, have been dispatched to Lebanon. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced on Wednesday that none of the IRGC forces were killed in the pager explosions in Lebanon. What do we know about the "manufacturer" of the exploded pagers in Lebanon? Footage from across Lebanon on Tuesday showed explosions in places like supermarkets. In some cases, individuals were seen lying on the ground after the explosions. Scenes of crowded hospitals filled with bleeding patients were also sent. Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, had previously warned members of the group not to carry mobile phones, stating that they could be used by Israel to track the movements of the group. As a result, the organization uses pagers for communication. One Hezbollah official told the Associated Press that the exploded devices were from a new brand that the group had not used before. Several sources told Reuters that the plan for the pager explosions had been in the works for months. Hezbollah, which is supported by Iran, has promised to take revenge on Israel; the Israeli army has refrained from commenting on the explosions. A former Israeli army official told Radio Farda that the pager explosions were a "clear message" to Hezbollah. The Hezbollah group in Lebanon on Tuesday held Israel responsible for this attack and promised to "punish" Israel. The explosive attack with pagers occurred just hours after Israel announced the expansion of its military targets along the Lebanese border. Israel has not commented on whether it was responsible for these explosions. Hezbollah stated in a statement on Tuesday: "We hold the Israeli enemy fully responsible for this criminal aggression" and added that Israel "will certainly receive its just punishment for this sinful aggression." The pager explosions; the US warned Iran about possible reactions to the incident. Hezbollah also stated in another Telegram message on Wednesday that it would continue its fight in support of the extremist group Hamas in Gaza and reiterated that it would take revenge for the explosions of Tuesday. Hamas is one of the groups listed as terrorist organizations by the US and the European Union. Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, is scheduled to speak about the explosions on Thursday evening. On Tuesday, Aladdin Boroujerdi, a member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Iranian Parliament, also reacted to the news of the pager explosions and the injury of the Iranian ambassador in Lebanon, stating: "The government must respond decisively to Israel as soon as possible." Aladdin Boroujerdi told the news site "Khabar Online" that the governments of Lebanon and Iran must condemn this action and respond decisively as soon as possible. Referring to the injury of the Iranian ambassador in Lebanon, he added: "Iran and the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs must definitely take a position on this matter, as this action is a new aggression against the ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran." Mr. Boroujerdi also claimed, without providing evidence, that the American company "Motorola" played a role in these explosions and called for sanctions against that company. Following these remarks, two members of parliament in Iran wrote a written notice on Wednesday stating that Motorola products "are widely used in the digital and analog trunk layers and data transmission radios in sensitive industries in the Persian Gulf region, such as oil fields, refineries, security centers, police, and emergency services" and called for the "immediate" prevention of Motorola equipment to Iran. Meanwhile, Reuters reported, citing a senior Lebanese security official and another informed source, that Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, had embedded a small amount of explosive material inside 5,000 pagers of a Taiwanese brand that Hezbollah had ordered months ago. This Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from the Taiwanese company "Gold Apollo," which were imported into Lebanon in the spring. He also identified the model of these pagers as AP924, which, like other pagers, can receive messages but cannot make phone calls. Masoud Pezeshkian, the President of Iran, also reacted to this incident, stating that he considers this attack a "shameful act by Western countries, led by the Americans," despite the fact that the perpetrator of the explosive attack with pagers in Lebanon has not been identified. Meanwhile, Matthew Miller, the spokesperson for the US State Department, announced on Tuesday that the US had neither prior knowledge nor involvement in the widespread explosions of the pagers used by Hezbollah in Lebanon and urged Iran not to exploit the incident. However, Masoud Pezeshkian attributed this event to the US, stating that in his belief, "this incident once again showed that Western countries and Americans ... claim to seek a ceasefire in appearance." In another reaction, the EU's foreign policy chief condemned the explosions on Wednesday, stating: "Even if it seems that these attacks were targeted, they have caused heavy and unexpected collateral damage among civilians, including children." Josep Borrell expressed concern about the security and stability of Lebanon and added that "the European Union calls on all stakeholders to prevent an all-out war that would have severe consequences for the entire region and beyond."