Iranian ambassador reemerges, slams Israel after deadly pager attack

Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, has appeared publicly in Beirut for the first time since a mid-September attack in which an exploding pager left him with severe injuries to his face and hands.

Amani visited the site in southern Beirut where Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed on 27 September in an Israeli air strike that also destroyed six buildings. Amani condemned Israel’s actions, stating it should receive “the highest medal for sabotage, terrorism, blood, and killing civilians.”

The pager attack, which targeted Hezbollah, involved the detonation of approximately 3,000 devices, killing and injuring many members of the group. A day later, a similar assault on walkie-talkies caused further devastation. In total, these coordinated explosions left at least 37 dead and more than 3,000 wounded, many of them civilians.

A spokesperson for the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed last month that Netanyahu personally approved the pager attack. This admission has drawn condemnation for its indiscriminate targeting of civilians and its flagrant disregard for international laws meant to protect non-combatants.