A senior Iranian official has reportedly revealed that Tehran was involved in purchasing the pagers used by Hezbollah operatives that exploded across Lebanon last week in a devastating attack widely attributed to Israel. The official also hinted that a similar device could have been responsible for the helicopter crash that killed Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in May.

In a post on X, Europe-based Iranian journalist Mohamad Ahwaze reported that Ahmad Bakhshayesh Ardestani, a member of Iran’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, confirmed that Hezbollah’s communications had been compromised in the attack. “Hezbollah had been hacked,” Ardestani reportedly said, adding that Raisi had one of the compromised pagers.

The explosions, which took place last Tuesday and Wednesday, targeted pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah operatives. The coordinated attack, which left at least 30 dead and thousands injured, has been widely blamed on Israel after months of escalating cross-border tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.

Earlier this month, an official Iranian investigation into Raisi’s fatal helicopter crash concluded that the May accident was caused by bad weather. The helicopter, carrying Raisi and his entourage, crashed into a fog-covered mountainside in northern Iran, killing the president and seven others, and prompting snap elections. However, Ardestani’s recent comments raise the possibility that the crash may have been linked to a cyberattack involving the same compromised communication devices used by Hezbollah operatives.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)