Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has ordered all members to stop using any type of communication devices after thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah in Lebanon blew up last week, two senior Iranian security officials told Reuters.
One of the security officials told the news agency that a large-scale operation is underway by the IRGC to inspect all devices, not just communication equipment.
He said most of these devices were either homemade or imported from China and Russia.
Iran was concerned about infiltration by Israeli agents, including Iranians on Israel's payroll and a thorough investigation of personnel has already begun, targeting mid and high-ranking members of the IRGC, added the official, who declined to be identified.
"This includes scrutiny of their bank accounts both in Iran and abroad, as well as their travel history and that of their families," the security official told Reuters.
Iran's Foreign, Defense and Interior Ministries were not immediately available to respond to the comments made by the security officials to Reuters.
The pager devices detonated last Tuesday across Hezbollah's strongholds. A day later, on Wednesday, hundreds of Hezbollah walkie-talkies exploded. Lebanese officials said 39 people were killed and more than 3,000 were injured in the explosions.
On Thursday, a US intelligence source told ABC News that Israel, which has not commented on the explosions, had a hand in the manufacturing of the pagers that exploded and had planned the operation for at least 15 years.
The New York Times reported on Wednesday night that BAC, the company which manufactured the pagers, was set up by Israel specifically as part of an operation to sabotage Hezbollah.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah spoke out on Thursday for the first time about the pager and communication device explosions that killed and wounded thousands of terrorists in Lebanon.
"Israel crossed all the red lines by detonating thousands of pagers. This could be called a declaration of war," Nasrallah stated. He added that "the devices exploded in unison, in the hospitals as well. As a result of the aggression, dozens were killed, including women and children, and thousands were injured. The true numbers will come with time. This is an act of terror, massacre, genocide. More than 4,000 pagers were distributed to the organization's operatives.
"We undoubtedly suffered a major security and humanitarian blow, unprecedented in the history of man and maybe in the history of the conflict. We were hit hard, but that's the situation in war. We understand that the enemy has technological supremacy. Especially since it is supported by the US and the West. When we are in conflict we bet on Jihad, on attrition. We had many victories until now."
With this, he insisted: "The heavy blow that we suffered won't knock us down. From experience, we will become stronger, smarter, and more determined. We will be ready to overcome all of the threats and attempts in the future."
