A big revelation has come to light regarding the blasts in pagers and walkie-talkies in Lebanon. A former Iranian Quds Force official claimed on state TV on Saturday that an Iranian company had purchased the pagers for Hezbollah. However, the same channel later denied the news of any such purchases by any Iranian company. Many Hezbollah fighters were killed due to the explosion of these pagers and walkie-talkies.
Speaking to news service Iran, former deputy commander of the Quds Force, Masoud Asadullahi, said that an Iranian company had purchased the pagers for Hezbollah that were later detonated. According to Iran International English, Masoud Asadollahi said that these pagers were purchased by an Iranian company. He said that they (Hezbollah) already had thousands of pagers. They decided to activate the old pagers, but needed 3,000 to 4,000 new pagers. He asked to place the order from an Iranian company. On behalf of Hezbollah, they said that they cannot make the purchase because it would raise suspicion. That company negotiated with a well-known Taiwanese brand that produced pagers and placed an order for 5,000 pagers. The pagers were handed over to an Iranian company, and then to Hezbollah.
Pager did not pass security check – Masood
Masoud Asadullahi said that the pagers through which Hezbollah suffered losses should have gone through security checks before being used. But they were not subjected to any security checks and were sent straight to Hezbollah. Although hardly anyone thought that these pagers would become bombs.
Out of 5 thousand pagers, only 3 thousand were distributed – Masood
Asadullahi said that the company had ordered about 5 thousand new pagers to give to Hezbollah, but they delivered only 3 thousand pagers and the remaining 2 thousand were kept. Those 3 thousand pagers exploded simultaneously. These comments of Masood Asadullahi created an uproar in Iran. Soon, Noor News, a media outlet considered close to Iran's Supreme National Security Council, also responded to his comments. Nour News wrote that no Iranian company played any role in the purchase, transportation or distribution of Hezbollah pagers.
Last month itself, before the air strikes in Lebanon, Israel had blasted pagers and walkie-talkies in Lebanon. Although Israel did not take responsibility for these attacks. About 37 people were killed in these pager blasts in Lebanon, while more than 3 thousand people were injured. Hezbollah had already stopped using mobile networks. Later, when pagers and walkie-talkies also started exploding, Hezbollah's internal communication network collapsed, after which it became easier for Israel to attack Hezbollah.
