A member of the Iranian parliament, Ahmad Bakhshayesh Ardestani, suggested that a pager, similar to those employed against Hezbollah in Lebanon, detonated inside the helicopter of Iranianformer Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi in May, causing it to crash.
In two days of assaults on September 16 and 17, pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah members exploded, resulting in a total death toll of 39 and over 3,000 injuries. These attacks are widely thought to have been executed by Israel, which has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement.
“One likely scenario regarding the deadly helicopter crash that killed Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi is the explosion of his pager,” Ardestani told Iranian news media outlets.
“Raisi used a pager, although the type of the pager he used might be different from the ones Hezbollah forces had. However, one of the likely scenarios regarding the chopper crash is the explosion of his pager,” he said.
He also suggested that Iran was involved in acquiring the pagers, stating, “(Iranian forces) certainly played a role in the purchase of Hezbollah’s pagers, and our intelligence agencies should investigate this matter.”
The theory that Raisi used a pager gained attention last week after a photo of him with outgoing Iraqi Parliament Speaker Mohammad al-Halboosi went viral. The image shows a pager on the table in the background, but it is unclear if it is the same brand used by Hezbollah militants.
According to a final investigation report released by the Iranian government earlier this month, severe weather conditions, including thick fog, were primarily responsible for the helicopter crash that killed former President Ebrahim Raisi in May.
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The General Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces stated that a thorough examination of the helicopter’s technical, engineering, electronic, and navigation aspects was conducted. The findings confirmed that all procedures and measures met established standards and regulations before and during the flight, as reported by Xinhua news agency, citing IRIB news agency.
The report dismissed the possibility of deviations from the flight path, inaccurate route information, or external interference as causes of the crash. It also indicated that the pilot did not report any emergency situation, and forensic examinations found no signs of foul play or an attack.
The crash was attributed to the region’s “complicated climatic and atmospheric conditions during spring,” which resulted in dense fog that led the helicopter to collide with a mountain.
On May 19, Raisi and his entourage, including former Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, died when their helicopter crashed in a mountainous area of East Azarbaijan province.
