Lebanese fear bombs in their pockets after Hezbollah device blasts

Iran is outraged that its ambassador to Lebanon was harmed in the exploding-pagers operation that took place on Tuesday. 

Reports indicate that Iranian Ambassador Mojtaba Amani lost an eye in the attack. 

Many Hezbollah members looked at the pagers when they beeped and were wounded in the face when they exploded.

Why was Iran’s ambassador issued a Hezbollah pager? This is a question Iran has not answered. 

It seems clear that he was part of the Hezbollah nexus in Lebanon – likely as a key contact with Iran and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. This would make it appear he was more than just a diplomat.

Iran has condemned Israel for the harm caused to its envoy. Iranian Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UN Amir Saeid Iravani said Tehran would “follow up on the attack against its ambassador in Lebanon, demanding the UN chief and the Security Council condemn Israel’s terrorist action against the ambassador as well as targeting of Lebanese civilians,” Iranian state media reported Wednesday.

Tehran has sent a letter to the head of the UN and the presidents of the Security Council and the General Assembly, saying it reserves its right under “international law” to take measures in the wake of the incident.

Iran has done so before. When Israel struck a building next to the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Tehran responded by launching more than 300 missiles and drones at Israel.

It’s not clear how much weight Iran puts on the ambassador’s wounds. Tehran called it a “heinous crime,” adding that it “strongly condemns this act of sabotage and terrorism by the rogue regime of Israel.”

Iran said the pager affair was a “flagrant violation of the basic principles and rules of international law, including the UN Charter, international law, particularly international humanitarian law, and international human rights law, as well as the provisions of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the 1973 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Internationally Protected Persons, including Diplomatic Agents.”

Fear spreads throughout the Lebanon 

The explosion of thousands of Hezbollah's mobile communication devices has spread fear across Lebanon, leaving people terrified they might be carrying bombs in their pockets.

At least 37 people were killed and more than 3,000 wounded when first pagers, then walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah members exploded in two waves of attacks on Tuesday and Wednesday. Lebanon and Hezbollah say Israel carried out the attack.

False rumors have spread of other types of mobile phones and even appliances blowing up since the attack.

Mustafa Jemaa said he had removed some stock from his electronics shop in the southern city of Sidon.

"We had some devices here that we believed were 100% safe, but out of caution, we removed them ... because we got worried," he said.

The Lebanese army on Thursday called on citizens to report any sightings of suspicious objects, adding that it had been conducting controlled explosions of pagers and other devices thought to be rigged.

Lebanese civil aviation authorities on Thursday banned walkie-talkies and pagers from being taken on flights or shipped by air, the National News Agency reported.

Those killed or wounded in Tuesday's blasts included Hezbollah terrorists, medics, and administrative staff. 

At least two of Tuesday's dead were children, killed when pagers belonging to their fathers blew up.

"Of course we're scared, my children, my siblings' children, all of us. Who can feel safe in this situation?" said Mustafa Sibai, a Beirut resident.

"When I heard about what happened yesterday, I left my phone on my motorcycle and walked away," he said.

Ziad Makari, information minister in Lebanon's caretaker government, said panic was to be expected, noting that the attack was "a new type of crime to the Lebanese" and that it had struck people at home, at work, and during their daily lives.

But he added that "there are many rumors - an intercom blew up, a solar power (system) blew up, a television blew up, a smartphone blew up." "There are a lot of lies ... a lot of fake news, and this doesn't help at all," he said.