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Mojtaba Amani, the Islamic Republic’s ambassador to Lebanon, himself badly injured by the pager incident, justified the purchase by quoting the ‘weakness of the Lebanese state’.
By OHAD MERLIN NOVEMBER 13, 2024 09:09
Iran's ambassador to Lebanon Mojtaba Amani speaks during a press conference at the Iranian embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, July 31, 2024
(photo credit: REUTERS/MOHAMED AZAKIR)
Mojtaba Amani, the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon who was injured during the pager detonation incident of September, admitted that Hezbollah was the one who purchased the pagers in the first place.
During an interview with Islamic Republic outlet ISNA, Amani alleged that the pagers were not used for military purposes, accusing that their detonation constituted a war crime. He also testified that prior to the detonation, a “special beep” sounded. Then a message appeared reading, “You have an important message,” triggering the detonation upon pushing a button to read it.
This confession comes following months of pro-Hezbollah outlets claiming that the pagers were not limited to Hezbollah members alone, despite Hezbollah themselves admitting that they were held by their members in the days following the incident.
Attempting to explain Hezbollah’s necessity for the pagers, Amani accused that Lebanon is ‘not a very strong country,’ adding that the country “does not have a president, and the prime minister is temporary.”
According to Amani, these facts led to Hezbollah’s purchasing of the pagers in an attempt to provide warnings from Israeli air raids. He also noted that since the incident, pagers have not been used, and Hezbollah members have warned each other by shooting into the air.
Amani did not provide any context for his own holding of such a communications device purchased and used by the terrorist organization.
‘His injuries are proof of terrorist's activity’
Amani appeared in public earlier this week for the first time since his injury during the pager attack. He could be seen with injuries in his face around the eyes and in his hands, with pro-Islamic Republic accounts cheering on him and adding commending quotes such as “in memory of all those who gave their eyes to Iran”. Likewise, other supporting tweets quoted Amani as saying: “This injury is an honor for me because I was with the oppressed Lebanese people in this war crime.”
However, others saw in Amani’s injury proof for his involvement with Hezbollah’s pro-Iranian and anti-Lebanese endeavors.
Ghassan Bou Diab, a Lebanese-born peace activist who opposes Hezbollah, tweeted on his X account:
“After it was proven that the Mullah’s ambassador was injured in the pager explosion, which necessarily means that he was involved in terrorist and criminal acts that threaten Lebanese national security and cause huge losses in Lebanon and undermine its inner stability - this should strip him of any diplomatic immunity. It is the right of the Lebanese and the duty of the foreign minister to expel the terrorist Mujtaba Amani and shut down the the den of conspiracies called ‘the Iranian Embassy’.
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Once the new administration takes over, we will file a lawsuit before the American courts and demand the confiscation of the assets and properties of the Iranian mullahs to pay compensation to the Lebanese whose homes were destroyed by the terrorist militias, the IRGC and Ali Khamenei!”
Earlier this week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly claimed responsibility for the pager attack for the first time, accusing other cabinet members of opposing it.
The attack, which was reportedly considered to be activated in the first days following the October 7 Massacre but was then postponed, led to the injury of an estimated 4,000 Hezbollah terrorists and the death of at least 59, according to different reports.
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