By Maryam Manzoori | 2024-10-15

The injury of Iran's ambassador to Lebanon Mojtaba Amani in the attack in Beirut last month targeting Hizbullah members' wireless communications devices has raised serious questions about why a diplomatic figure would be carrying a pager from the militant group.

Iran has yet to explain this, but it clearly indicates Amani's role in the Hizbullah network in Lebanon -- likely serving as a key liaison between Hizbullah and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), making him more than just a diplomat.

"The fact that the Iranian ambassador in Lebanon had one of these pagers confirms suspicions long held by many -- that he was deeply involved in terrorist activities and responsible for coordinating between Iran and Hizbullah," Navid Mohebbi, an Iranian political analyst based in Washington, DC, told Pishtaz.

"There is substantial evidence that Iran appoints ambassadors to countries like Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen with the involvement or influence of the IRGC, particularly the Quds Force," he said.

"These appointments align with Iran's broader strategy of expanding its influence through both diplomatic and military means in regions where it has significant stakes."

Failure to protect

The Iranian regime has repeatedly failed to protect its own citizens, foreign guests and diplomats abroad, highlighting the shortcomings of its intelligence agencies.

The April 1 killing of several IRGC soldiers, including Quds Force commander Brig. Gen. Mohammad Reza Zahedi, in an air strike on Iran's consulate in Damascus, further underscores Tehran's inability to safeguard its personnel.

More recently, on September 27, IRGC deputy commander Abbas Nilforoushan was killed in the same Israeli strike that killed Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

"Israel holds a substantial technological and electronic warfare advantage over Iran and its proxies," Mohebbi said. "In an increasingly technology-dependent era, this further exposes the regime and its forces to vulnerability."

When such incidents occur repeatedly, they can no longer be dismissed as isolated mistakes, he said.

"The Iranian regime's security apparatus and its proxies have become highly susceptible to infiltration, and Israel continues to exploit these weaknesses," he said.

"Many individuals working for the regime or its proxies either have weak ideological commitments or face financial difficulties, making them easy targets for infiltration," Mohebbi said.