Hezbollah leader: Lebanon blasts 'can be called a declaration of war'

UK foreign secretary David Lammy has asked British nationals to leave Lebanon, amid rising tensions following two days of Israeli-suspected attacks on Hezbollah.

"My message to British nationals in Lebanon is leave while commercial options remain. Tensions are high and the situation could deteriorate rapidly," Lammy posted on X (formerly Twitter).

The US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has postponed his trip to Israel amid the escalation on the Israeli-Lebanese border, according to Axios.

The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned against escalation in the Middle East following two days of suspected Israeli attacks on Hezbollah that saw the group’s communication devices explode.

“We don’t want to see any escalatory actions by any party,” Blinken said after talks in Paris with French counterpart Stephane Sejourne.

He called for restraint and asked all regional players not to endanger a potential ceasefire in Gaza.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards commander Gen. Hossein Salami sent a message to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, according to Iran’s official news agency, IRNA, saying that Israel will face a ‘crushing response’ from the Resistance Front –a name given to Iran’s allied armed groups across the Middle East.

Salami called the explosion of communication devices in Lebanon a “terrorist crime” and a sign of “desperation”.

“There is no doubt that the Israeli aggression that took place on Tuesday and Wednesday with the bombing of the pagers is major and unprecedented aggression that will be met with a severe reckoning and just punishment."

"The enemy also aimed, through the massacres of Tuesday and Wednesday, to strike (our) infrastructure and command and control structure and to spread a state of weakness and confusion in the leadership of Hezbollah. This never happened even for a single moment."

"What happened did not affect our determination, our command and control structure, our readiness or our presence on the fronts. Rather, it will increase our strength and presence."

"What happened is a genocide and a major massacre to be added to the major massacres committed by the enemy since the creation of this cancerous tumor in our region," Nasrallah said.

"It can be called a declaration of war", he added.

"There is no doubt that we have been exposed to a major and unprecedented blow on the security and humanitarian levels," Nasrallah told supporters via video link

Hezbollah leader thanked all those who helped treating the wounded, praising the Iranian government in particular for transferring and treating some in Iran.

This has been a point of controversy in Iran as some Iranians have criticized the government for its "double standard", injuring and blinding protesters while bringing in Hezbollah members for treatment.

Hassan Nasrallah starts by saying he wanted to speak on the one-year anniversary of the October 7, but had to change plans after the recent events.

IRGC-affiliated media, citing a hacker group called Hanzala, reported that the blasts involving Hezbollah's communication devices were allegedly caused by contaminating pager batteries with a specific heat-sensitive explosive material during the manufacturing process. According to the group, these batteries were tainted with explosives in Israel before being transferred to the devices' manufacturing country.

French President Emmanuel Macron has called Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati expressing “condemnation” for the blasts that killed dozens and wounded several thousands, according to a statement quoted by the NNA news agency.

The statement adds that Macron called on all parties to exercise restraint and avoid escalation without making any direct reference to Israel, which Hezbollah has blamed for the explosions.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin expressed "unwavering support" for Israel in response to "threats from Iran, Hezbollah, and other regional actors," in a message shared on X. He noted that he had spoken with Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant to review regional security developments and reaffirmed the US commitment to "deterring regional adversaries and deescalating tensions across the region."

Additionally, Austin emphasized the urgent need to secure a Gaza ceasefire to ensure the safe return of hostages held by Hamas, while also advocating for a diplomatic solution to the Israel-Lebanon border conflict to allow civilians on both sides to return to their homes.

Turkey is reassessing its security protocols for the communication devices used by its armed forces following the deadly blasts in Lebanon, a Turkish defense ministry official stated on Thursday.

The official, speaking anonymously, emphasized that Turkey's military primarily relies on domestically-produced equipment but also has stringent control mechanisms when third parties are involved in procurement or production, according to Reuters.

"Whether in the operations we carry out, the ongoing war in Ukraine, and as with the Lebanon example, measures are reviewed and new measures are being developed as part of the lessons learned following each development," the official said.

"In the context of this incident, we as the Defence Ministry are carrying out the necessary examinations," the official added, without further elaboration.

The death toll from Wednesday's explosions involving electronic devices in Lebanon has risen to 25, with five additional deaths confirmed, according to the Lebanese Health Minister. The blasts also left 608 people injured.

The Lebanese army is conducting "controlled detonations of suspicious pagers and communication devices in various locations," according to the state news agency, NNA.

The army's statement urged citizens to avoid the detonation sites, report suspicious devices or objects, and avoid approaching them.

Iranian officials and Hezbollah's chief Hassan Nasrallah were reportedly advised to distance themselves from their mobile phones and submit them for inspection before use following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, according to a former Revolutionary Guard official.

Mohsen Rafighdoost, speaking to Iranian domestic media, stated that various units within IRGC intelligence and Iran's Ministry of Intelligence have ramped up their efforts to counter assassination tactics involving the hacking of electronic devices in the aftermath of Haniyeh's death.

While Western media outlets report that Haniyeh's death resulted from a bomb planted at his location, Tehran maintains that he was tracked via his mobile phone and killed by a projectile.

The Japanese manufacturer of the brand of walkie-talkies allegedly linked to explosions targeting Hezbollah on Wednesday has denied responsibility for producing the explosive devices.

“There’s no way a bomb could have been integrated into one of our devices during manufacturing. The process is highly automated and fast-paced, so there’s no time for such things," Yoshiki Enomoto, a director at ICOM, told Reuters.

ICOM said that it ceased production of the radio models identified in the attacks over a decade ago, noting that many of the units currently in circulation are counterfeit.

"If it turns out to be counterfeit, then we'll have to investigate how someone created a bomb that looks like our product. If it's genuine, we'll have to trace its distribution to figure out how it ended up there," Enomoto added.

Lebanon's Civil Aviation Authority has issued a directive instructing airlines to prohibit passengers from bringing pagers and walkie-talkies on board aircraft, according to a report from the Arabic news outlet Al Hadath.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Thursday condemned the explosions of electronic pagers and walkie-talkie devices widely used by Hezbollah in Lebanon, vowing that these actions will not go unanswered. He added, “God is invincible and will take revenge on those responsible.”

In a post on X, Pezeshkian described the attacks as an “act of terrorism carried out by a hostile regime." He also reiterated Iran's support for the government and people of Lebanon.

Israel’s Shin Bet, the country's domestic intelligence service, has disclosed a thwarted Iranian assassination plot that aimed to target Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar.

The intensity of these efforts escalated significantly following the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, according to Shin Bet.

The Iranian scheme also included plans to target former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and other senior Israeli defense figures, although these intentions appeared less concrete.

The operation sought to exploit an Israeli businessman with extensive ties to both Turkey and Iran, leveraging his financial networks to facilitate the assassination attempts within Israel.

"This clever operation against Hezbollah will at least force the group to question their internal security operations and the safety of the communication devices they rely on. It’s a surgical way to respond to their rocket attacks without starting another ground war," US Congressman Dan Crenshaw said.

The French Foreign Ministry issued a statement Wednesday expressing concern that recent security developments in Lebanon are "contributing to a dangerous escalation of tensions in the region."

The ministry referred to the recent statements by Israeli authorities about military operations in Lebanon and urged them to exercise maximum restraint.

The statement urged Hezbollah to immediately cease its attacks on Israeli territory and said, "Maintaining peace and security in Lebanon requires all Lebanese parties to prioritize the national interest and distance themselves from open conflicts in the region."

Death toll from today's walkie-talkie explosions in Lebanon has increased to 20, the country's Health Ministry announced. Over 450 people have also been injured, it added.

Israeli officials notified the United States that the country was going to carry out an operation in Lebanon on Tuesday but did not give any details about what they were planning, CNN reported Wednesday citing three sources familiar with the matter, including in a call between Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant early Tuesday morning.

"The fact no details about the operation were given meant US officials were in the dark until reports of hundreds of exploding pagers emerged a short time later," the report added citing the sources.

"Iran accusing Israel of a terrorist attack on Hezbollah is comical. It’s called defense," the United States' former ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said Wednesday, after Tehran called the suspected Israeli attacks on Hezbollah communication devices 'an act of terrorism'."October 7th was a terrorist attack.

"The daily rockets launched by Hezbollah into Northern Israel displacing 60k civilians from their homes are terrorist attacks. Terrorists have been holding hostages in Gaza, for a year, sponsored by Iran. Let’s be clear, Iran wrote the textbook on terrorism and lives it every day," Haley added.

Iran's UN envoy in a letter to the Security Council said Tehran will seriously pursue the attack against its ambassador in Lebanon. Amir-Saeed Iravani also called on the UN Secretary-General and the Security Council to condemn Israel's actions.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Wednesday the US was not involved in today's walkie-talkie attacks in Lebanon.

He said the US is still involved in intensive diplomacy to prevent a second front from opening up on the Israeli border with Lebanon.

"We still believe there is a diplomatic path forward, particularly with Lebanon," he said.

"There is no doubt that the attack on Hezbollah's pagers was the work of Israel, and it has the fingerprints of Mossad," Ehud Yaari, an Israel-based Lafer international fellow of The Washington Institute, told Iran International.

Israel will ensure that tens of thousands of residents evacuated from northern border areas will be able to go back home, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday, following two suspected Israeli attacks on Hezbollah's communications devices.

"I have said it before, we will return the citizens of the north to their homes safely and that's exactly what we are going to do," he said in a brief video statement, giving no further details.

The Lebanese Health Ministry says 14 people have been killed and over 450 others wounded in the Wednesday blasts that hit walkie-talkie devices of Hezbollah members.

The UN General Assembly has passed a resolution demanding Israel withdraw from the occupied Palestinian territories within one year.

The non-binding resolution calls for sanctions against Israel in the likely event of non-compliance and refers to a ruling of the International Court of Justice demanding Israel end its "unlawful presence" in the occupied areas.

"Israel’s security concerns cannot override the principle of the prohibition of the acquisition of territory by force," the resolution said.

The UN Security Council will convene on Friday at Algeria's request to discuss the explosions of Hezbollah's pagers, which killed 12 and injured over 3,000 people on Tuesday, Slovenia's representative to the United Nations and the current president of the Security Council said.

Iran's Health Minister Mohammad-Reza Zafarghandi says "the first group of those injured in the explosion of Hezbollah pagers will be transferred to Iran for treatment within a few hours."

He also announced the dispatch of a team of ophthalmology specialists to Lebanon, amid reports that hundreds of those hit by the attacks sustained eye injuries.

Israeli army chief Herzi Halevi said Wednesday his country has many capabilities that it has "not yet activated".

“The price for Hezbollah has to be high,” Halevi said after two days of suspected Israeli attacks that hit Hezbollah's communications devices, killing at least 26.

Germany’s export of war weapons to Israel has plummeted to near zero this year, according to Reuters, mainly due to legal cases that argue such exports violate humanitarian laws.

Data from the Economy Ministry shows just above 30 thousand euros worth of "war weapons" had been approved so far this year, as opposed to more than 320 million euros in 2022.

Reuters quotes a source close to the ministry as saying that a senior government official revealed that the approval of arms export licenses to Israel has been suspended.

"The center of gravity is moving from Gaza to the north through the diversion of resources and forces. We are opening a new phase in the war," Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says.

Hezbollah deputy secretary general Hashim Safi Al Din threatened a "unique and bloody vengeance" following two days of suspected Israeli attacks on the communication devices of Hezbollah fighters, which have so far killed over 20 and injured more than 3,000 people.

“These attacks will certainly be uniquely punished; there will be a bloodily unique revenge," he said while attending a funeral for one of the victims. “I won’t talk about this at length” because “tomorrow, the leader of Hezbollah will speak and all will be revealed. And we will be in a new situation and a new confrontation with this enemy."

The enemy, he added, “should know that we are not beaten, that we will not break, that will not withdraw, and will not be influenced by what this enemy is doing.”

Iran says the latest explosions in Lebanon shows that Israel is a "serious threat" to peace and security in the Middle East.

"This action... amounts to mass murder," Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said on Wednesday.

"(The explosions) violate all ethical and humanitarian principles, as well as international law, particularly international humanitarian law, and warrant international criminal prosecution, trial and punishment", he added.

The Iranian government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani also condemned the blasts that his Hezbollah's communications devices, and offered help to the wounded.

"The terrorism of the Zionist regime causes aversion and disgust. Iran strongly condemns yesterday's criminal explosion of communication devices and today's criminal explosion of walkie-talkies, which resulted in the death and injury of hundreds of Lebanese civilians," Mohajerani said in a post on her X account on Wednesday.

Nine people were killed and over 300 injured in the Wednesday explosion of communications devices in Lebanon, the country's health ministry announced.

The UN's secretary general Antonio Guterres warned about "weaponizing" civilian objects, following the simultaneous explosion of pagers used by Hezbollah.

The briefing at UN headquarters in New York was held before the second round of explosions, which involved walkie-talkies.

“I think it’s very important that there is an effective control of civilian objects, not to weaponize civilian objects, that should be a rule that … governments should be able to implement,” Guterres said.

Hundreds of people have been injured in the latest round of explosions in Lebanon, which involved walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah, according to Reuters citing a security source.

The report adds that many victims have suffered injuries to their stomach and hands.

Images published on social media of some of the devices exploded in Lebanon on Wednesday appear to include Icom IC-V82 two-way radios.

Icom is a Japanese manufacturer with products for radio professionals and amateurs.

Three people have been killed in Bekaa following the fresh wave of explosions in Lebanon, the country's state news agency reported.

Lebanon's Health Ministry, however, says only one person has been killed and more than 100 injured according to the preliminary toll.

Israel blew up thousands of personal radios (Walkie-Talkies) which were used by Hezbollah members in Lebanon, Axios reported Wednesday citing sources.

This is the second wave of its intelligence operation which started on Tuesday with the explosions of Hezbollah pager devices, the report added.

The personal radios were booby-trapped in advance by Israeli intelligence services and then delivered to Hezbollah, sources told Axios.

The walkie-talkies were part of the Iran-backed group's emergency communications system which was supposed to be used during a war with Israel, the report added.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk has issued a statement condemning the pager blasts in Lebanon, suggesting it could be in violation of international humanitarian law.

“Simultaneous targeting of thousands of individuals, whether civilians or members of armed groups, without knowledge as to who was in possession of the targeted devices, their location and their surroundings at the time of the attack, violates international human rights law and, to the extent applicable, international humanitarian law,” the UN rights chief said in a statement.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says Western backers of Israel should feel “shame” after paging devices belonging to Lebanon’s Hezbollah exploded in a deadly attack on Tuesday, which the Tehran-aligned group blamed on Israel.

“Western countries and the Americans … fully support the crimes, killings and indiscriminate assassinations of the Zionist regime,” Pezeshkian said in a statement, referring to Israel.

The communications devices that exploded across Lebanon on Wednesday are "hand-held radios" and are different to pagers that exploded Tuesday, Reuters reports citing a security source and a witness.

More blasts are being reported in Beirut. Reuters says its communications devices are exploding.

Al Jazeera reporter Ali Hashem says "round of blasts" in people's hands and inside cars.

Twelve people were killed in the blasts targeting Hezbollah members' pagers on Tuesday including an 8-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy, Lebanon's acting health minister Firas Abiad said in a press conference.

Up to 2,800 people were wounded including nearly 300 in critical condition, he added.

"Among the 1,800 people who entered hospital, 460 needed operations on the eyes, face or limbs, especially the hands, and multiple operations were performed to amputate hands or fingers," Abiad said.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated that the United States had no prior knowledge of or involvement in the recent pager blasts in Lebanon. Speaking at a joint press conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, Blinken remarked, "With regard to Lebanon, the United States did not know about, nor was it involved in these incidents, and we’re still gathering information and gathering the facts."

He further highlighted the need for caution in the region, saying, "Broadly speaking, we’ve been very clear and we remain very clear about the importance of all parties avoiding any steps that could escalate the conflict that we’re now trying to resolve in Gaza, to [avoid] seeing it spread to other fronts. It’s clearly not in the interest of anyone involved to see that happen and that’s why, again, it’s imperative that all parties refrain from any actions that could escalate the conflict."

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian condemned the blasts involving Hezbollah's pagers, denouncing the targeting of devices designed to "enhance human comfort" as tools of terror. In his statement, he described the attack as a "collapse of humanity" and the "dominance of savagery and criminality."

Pezeshkian also accused Western countries and the United States, asserting that while they claim to seek a ceasefire, "in practice, they fully support the crimes, killings, and indiscriminate acts of terror committed by the Zionist regime."

He emphasized that the solution to ending the "oppression and crimes against Palestinians and the Islamic world" lies in "the unity and solidarity of Muslims and Islamic nations."

The death toll from the pager explosions in Lebanon has risen to 12, including two children, Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad announced on Wednesday. Both Hezbollah and the Lebanese government have accused Israel of orchestrating the blasts, which involved hundreds of pagers. Israel has yet to issue a response addressing these allegations.

The European Union's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, condemned the pager explosions targeting Hezbollah militants, describing the situation as "extremely worrying" and a threat to the security and stability of Lebanon.

In a statement on Wednesday, Borrell emphasized the EU's concern, warning that the attacks "increase the risk of escalation in the region."

He called on all parties to exercise restraint, stressing that the European Union urges "all stakeholders to avert an all-out war, which would have heavy consequences for the entire region and beyond."

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan expressed his condolences to Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati over the deadly pager explosions in Lebanon during a phone call on Wednesday, according to Turkey's state-owned Anadolu news agency.

In the conversation, Erdogan also warned of the dangers posed by Israel's efforts to extend the Gaza conflict into the broader region, affirming that Turkey would continue its efforts to prevent further escalation, Anadolu reported.

Russia has voiced strong condemnation of the deadly attack in which thousands of pagers used by Hezbollah detonated simultaneously across Lebanon, urging "all parties involved to exercise restraint."

Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova described the attack as an "unprecedented" assault on Lebanon, calling it a blatant violation of the country’s sovereignty and a serious challenge to international law through the use of unconventional weapons.

The Kremlin also issued a warning on Wednesday, stating that the attack involving exploding pagers used by Hezbollah and other groups could potentially trigger a broader regional conflict. It called for an investigation to identify those responsible.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov emphasized the risk of escalation, noting that "the region (the Middle East) itself is in an explosive state," and incidents like this have "the potential to be a trigger for the situation to spiral out of control." Peskov also stressed the importance of a thorough investigation, saying, "the causes and circumstances of what happened should be established, and those behind these mass explosions of communications equipment should be identified."

US officials engaged in back-channel communications with Iran on Tuesday to clarify that the United States had no involvement in the attack, according to the Washington Post.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller stressed that the US was "not involved" and had "no prior knowledge" of the event, consistently referring to it as an "incident" rather than an "attack" during his statements at Tuesday's press briefing.

According to new details reported by The New York Times regarding the pager detonations, at 3:30 p.m., the devices received a message that appeared to be from Hezbollah’s leadership, two officials familiar with the attack confirmed. The pagers beeped for several seconds before detonating.

Hezbollah has long relied on pagers to communicate, as they are believed to make interception of messages more difficult.

These blasts are seen as the latest escalation in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, which intensified after the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7.

5,000 pagers used by Hezbollah were rigged with explosives by Israel's Mossad, Lebanese sources told Reuters. The devices were detonated on Tuesday, killing nine people and injuring nearly 3,000, including Hezbollah fighters and Iran’s envoy to Beirut.

According to the Lebanese sources, the pagers were reportedly from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo, but the company denied manufacturing them, stating they were actually made by a company called BAC.

Taiwan's Gold Apollo did not make the pagers used in Tuesday's detonations in Lebanon, the company's founder Hsu Ching-Kuang told reporters on Wednesday.

Gold Apollo stated that it has a "long-term partnership" with Budapest-based BAC Consulting KFT, allowing BAC to use its trademark. The company clarified that the pager model mentioned in media reports is "produced and sold by BAC," following reports that its pagers were involved in the blasts.

At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 injured when pagers used by Hezbollah members exploded simultaneously across Lebanon on Tuesday.

Reuters analyzed images of the destroyed pagers, which showed a design and stickers on the back that were consistent with those made by Gold Apollo.

Hsu said that the pagers involved in the explosions were produced by a European company authorized to use the Taiwanese firm's brand.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry has condemned Israel’s “terrorist act in Lebanon,” which it said targeted “Lebanese citizens” by blowing up communication systems and called it a form of mass murder.

Nearly 3,000 Hezbollah fighters, members and personnel were wounded when their pager devices began exploding, inflicting serious injuries on hundreds on Tuesday. Israel has not commented on the unprecedented operation.

Spokesperson of Iran’s foreign ministry, Nasser Kanani, declared that the operation violated all moral and humanitarian principles, international law, especially humanitarian law, and warrants international criminal prosecution, trial, and punishment.

Amir Saeed Iravani, Iran's permanent representative to the United Nations, also stated in an emergency session of the UN General Assembly that the Islamic Republic of Iran expresses its heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and the government of Lebanon, and strongly condemns this “subversive and terrorist act by the rogue Israeli regime.” He added that Israel must be held accountable for this aggression and heinous crime.

The attack was a joint operation of the Israeli military and Mossad, CNN reported Tuesday.

"Over 3,000 pagers were ordered from the Gold Apollo company in Taiwan... Hezbollah distributed the pagers to their members throughout Lebanon, with some reaching Hezbollah allies in Iran and Syria," The New York Times reported citing multiple officials. "Israel’s attack affected the pagers that were switched on and were receiving messages."

The explosives were planted next to the battery in each pager, and a switch embedded to detonate them remotely, the report said. The devices detonated simultaneously after receiving a message on Tuesday afternoon.

The Iranian ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, has sustained “very severe eye injuries” in the pager attacks that Lebanon and Iran blame on Israel, according to unconfirmed Iranian media reports.

Lebanon's Hezbollah announced on Tuesday that seven of its fighters have been killed in attacks it blamed on Israel, without making it clear whether all of them were killed in the pager attacks.

The group has released pictures of the seven fighters, identifying them as Youssef Madi Alwa, Hassan Ahmed Muhammad, Najib Abdul Hussein Alaa Al-Din, Hassan Muhammad Yassin, Hussein Ahmed Mantash, Muhammad Zakaria Abbas, and Abbas Bilal Munim.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman on Tuesday strongly condemned what he called "an Israeli act of terrorism" and an instance of "mass murder" in Lebanon, where the explosion of pagers used by Hezbollah members killed nine and injured over 3,000 people including Iran's ambassador.

The United States had no involvement in the Hezbollah pager blasts, the Pentagon said.

"To my knowledge, there's no U.S. involvement in this at all. Again, it's something that we're monitoring," Pentagon spokesman General Patrick Ryder said in a press conference Tuesday afternoon.

Hamas has blamed Israel for the detonation of Hezbollah pagers, calling it a "terrorist act" that "defies all laws."

“The crimes of the fascist occupation will not break our people’s will and their desire to join the resistance”, Hamas said in a statement.

Iran and Hezbollah are likely to retaliate for the pager attacks, but it could take them time to do so while they assess what happened, ABC News reported citing a US official.

The United States has cautioned Iran against a potential response to the simultaneous explosion of Hezbollah pagers that killed nine and wounded 2,800.

“We would urge Iran not to take advantage of any incident to raise instability in the region,” state department spokesman Matthew Miller said.

Iran has blamed Israel for the coordinated attack.

Miller said the US is concerned about escalation in the region, adding that Washington had no prior knowledge of the blasts.

Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi blamed and condemned Israel for the simultaneous detonation of Hezbollah pagers, in a call to his Lebanese counterpart Tuesday evening local time.

The Palestinian group Islamic Jihad has also condemned the attack, calling it a "war crime".

The Hezbollah pager blasts have wounded 14 people in Syria, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Hezbollah is known to have a significant presence in Syria.

Hezbollah has vowed revenge against Israel for the simultaneous detonation of the pagers used by members of the group.

“After examining all the facts, current data and available information about the sinful attack that took place this afternoon, we hold the Israeli enemy fully responsible for this criminal aggression," Hezbollah said in a statement.

The statement added that Israel "will certainly receive its just punishment" for the attack.

Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah was not harmed in the spree of pager blasts across Lebanon, a senior Hezbollah source told Reuters on Tuesday.

Nine people have been killed and 2,750 wounded in the coordinated attack on pagers used by Hezbollah members, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.

Two Hezbollah members are among the casualties, according to a brief statement by the Lebanese group, including the son of a Hezbollah MP.

The pager whose explosion injured Iran's ambassador in Lebanon belonged to one of his bodyguards, the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News reports.

Some Hezbollah members sensed their pagers overheating and discarded them before the series of explosions, according to a Hezbollah official cited by The Wall Street Journal.

The official speculated that the devices may have been compromised by malware, leading to their detonation.

A Hezbollah official has blamed Israel for the coordinated detonation of pagers that reportedly injured over 1,000.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity to the Times of Israel, said the explosions were the result of “a security operation that targeted the devices.”

“The enemy [Israel] stands behind this security incident,” the official added, without elaborating.

He said that the new pagers that Hezbollah members were carrying have lithium batteries that apparently exploded.

Iran’s state-TV is reporting that the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon has said in a phone call that he’s “well and fully conscious.”

Iran’s IRGC-affiliated Fars News says the injury to the ambassador is “minor”, but he is under observation in the hospital.

Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health has called on the country’s hospitals to be on high alert to deal with the “large number of people” with injuries. “It has been initially determined that the injuries are related to the explosion of wireless devices that were in the possession of the injured,” the ministry’s statement reads.

A Hezbollah official, speaking on condition of anonymity to Reuters, said the detonation of the pagers was the "biggest security breach" the group had been subjected to in nearly a year of war with Israel.

Three security sources have confirmed that the pagers that recently detonated in Lebanon were the latest model, brought into the country by Hezbollah in recent months.

Iran's ambassador to Lebanon Mojtaba Amani has been injured in the wave of pager explosions that took place in the country on Tuesday, according to Iran's state-affiliated Mehr News.

Hundreds of members of Hezbollah, including fighters and medics, were seriously wounded on Tuesday when the pagers they use to communicate exploded, Reuters reported citing a security source.