Iran bans QEER members from using communications devices after Lebanon pager blasts – Reuters

The leadership of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has banned its members from using communications equipment after the explosions of pagers belonging to members of the pro-Iranian Hezbollah movement in Lebanon, Reuters reported on September 23, citing sources in Iranian security services.

According to one of the agency's interlocutors, KVIR is conducting a large-scale inspection of all electronic devices, not just communications devices. Most of them are either made in Iran or imported from China and Russia.

Reuters' sources declined to provide details on how the KVIR forces communicate, except to say that they currently use end-to-end encryption in messaging apps.

The official claims that members of Iran's political elite are concerned about the explosions in Lebanon. The ISIS has approached Hezbollah for a technical assessment of the detonated devices, and several samples have been sent to Tehran for examination.

Iranian authorities are also concerned about possible infiltration by Israeli agents, including Iranians recruited by Israel. They have already launched investigations into some members of the QEIR, one of the sources told Reuters. This includes checking bank accounts of those and their families in Iran and abroad, as well as their travel history.

In mid-September, a series of explosions occurred in Lebanon targeting pagers and radios used by Hezbollah for operational communications. The explosions killed 39 people and injured more than 3,000.

Lebanon and Hezbollah claim Israel was behind the attacks. Israeli officials deny the allegations. Reuters reported that Israeli intelligence had planted explosives in 5,000 pagers purchased by Hezbollah months before the blasts.