Iran’s Ambassador to Lebanon Is Injured in Pager Attack, State Media Reports

Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amini, lost one eye and severely injured his other eye when a pager he was carrying exploded in a simultaneous wave of blasts targeting wireless electronic devices, according to two members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps briefed on the attack.

The Guards members, who had knowledge of the attacks and spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, said Mr. Amini’s injuries were more serious than Iran initially reported and that he would be medevacked to Tehran for treatment.

Hossein Soleimani, the editor in chief of Mashregh, the main Revolutionary Guards news website, confirmed the extent of Mr. Amini’s injuries in a post on X. “Unfortunately the injuries sustained by Iran’s ambassador were extremely severe and in his eyes,” Mr. Soleimani wrote.

A video of Mr. Amini being transported to the hospital, published by Iranian news media outlets, shows him on a chaotic Beirut street with his eyes covered by bandages and the front of his white shirt covered in blood.

Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, condemned the attack in a call with Lebanon’s foreign minister and said Iran was ready to medevac the ambassador and other injured people to Iran for medical treatment if needed, according to a statement released by his office. He spoke to Mr. Amini’s wife in Beirut and wished the ambassador a speedy recovery, the statement said.

The attacks appeared to mostly target members of Hezbollah, a political and militia group backed and supported by Iran. Hezbollah and Israel have engaged in intense clashes across their borders since the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attacks on Israel last year. Hezbollah accused Israel, which did not comment, of responsibility for the blasts.