Following pager attacks, Iran investigating potential Israeli infiltration of IRGC, banning all comm devices

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Following the explosions of thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah forces in Lebanon, and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Syria, the IRGC has banned the use of all types of communication devices by its members, according to two senior Iranian security officials who spoke to Reuters under condition of anonymity.

The IRGC is reportedly organizing a large-scale operation to inspect all devices, not only communication equipment, one official said, noting that most devices in question were either homemade or imported from China and Russia. He said the Iranian regime is conducting technical assessments of the exploded devices, having samples of them examined by Iranian experts.

Iran already initiated a systematic investigation of IRGC personnel following concerns it has been infiltrated by Israeli agents, including Iranian individuals who are being paid by Israel. The investigation is directed especially at mid- and high-ranking members of the IRGC, according to the Iranian official. He said the investigation includes carefully examining the travel history and bank accounts of IRGC personnel.

“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 said.

Some 4,000 pagers used by Hezbollah operatives exploded on Tuesday and Wednesday throughout various parts of Lebanon. Thirty-nine people have been killed and another 3,000 injured, the majority of them believed to be Hezbollah terrorists, according to Reuters.

In addition, 19 IRGC officials were reportedly killed in Syria after their pagers exploded on Wednesday with an additional 150 IRGC guards injured during the mass pager explosions.

“For now, we are using end-to-end encryption in messaging systems,” he said referring to the 190,000 members of IRGC.

The Iranian regime is now mainly focused on protecting the country’s nuclear and missile facilities, another Iranian official told Reuters.

“But since last year, security measures at those sites have increased significantly,” he said, referring to authorities in Iran who say Israel had attempted to sabotage Iran's missile program in 2023.

“There has never, ever been such tight security and extreme measures in place as there are now,” the official added.

Israel has not taken official responsibility for the pager attacks.

On Thursday, The New York Times, citing three anonymous Israeli intelligence officers reported that the Hungarian-based company, BAC, which produced Hezbollah’s exploding pagers was an Israeli shell company.

Israeli military intelligence viewed the pagers as “buttons” that could be activated at any time, according to the NYT report.