Iran's ambassador to Lebanon loses eye in pager explosions

The Iranian ambassador to Lebanon has lost one eye and sustained severe injuries in the other due to the explosion of wireless communication devices (pagers) in Beirut, The New York Times report revealed on Wednesday.

Previous information indicated that the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, was injured in a high-profile operation attributed to Israel on Tuesday, which led to the simultaneous explosion of thousands of pagers across Lebanon, resulting in the deaths of at least 11 people and injuries to around 4,000 others.

The New York Times report noted that Amani’s injuries “were more serious than Iran initially reported,” and that he was transferred to Tehran for treatment.

In turn, Hussein Soleimani, editor-in-chief of the IRGC-affiliated Mashregh News website, wrote on X, “Unfortunately, the injuries to the Iranian ambassador’s eyes were very severe.”

However, the Iranian embassy in Beirut denied the American newspaper’s report regarding Tehran’s ambassador losing one of his eyes, stating on X, “We would like to inform you that Ambassador Mojtaba Amani’s treatment is progressing well, and the rumors about his physical and visual condition are not true.”

A video published by Iranian news outlets showed Amani being transported to a hospital on a chaotic street in Beirut, his eyes covered with bandages, and the front of his white shirt stained with blood.

Israel’s Mossad spy agency planted explosives inside 5,000 pagers imported by Lebanese group Hezbollah months before Tuesday’s detonations, a senior Lebanese security source and another source told Reuters.

The operation was an unprecedented Hezbollah security breach that saw thousands of pagers detonate across Lebanon, killing nine people and wounding nearly 3,000 others, including the group’s fighters and Iran’s envoy to Beirut.

The Lebanese security source said the pagers were from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo, but the company said in a statement it did not manufacture the devices. It said they were made by a company called BAC which has a licence to use its brand, but gave no more details.