TEHRAN: Iran has banned pagers and walkie-talkies on all flights, local media reported Saturday, weeks after deadly sabotage attacks in Lebanon which were blamed on Israel.
“The entry of any electronic communication device, except mobile phones, in flight cabins or … in non-accompanied cargo, has been banned,“ ISNA news agency reported, citing the spokesman for Iran’s Civil Aviation Organisation Jafar Yazerlo.
The decision came over three weeks since sabotage attacks targeting members of the Iran-allied Hezbollah group in Lebanon that saw pagers and walkie-talkies explode, killing at least 39 people.
Nearly 3,000 others were wounded in the attack, which Iran and Hezbollah blamed on Israel, including Tehran’s ambassador to Lebanon Mojtaba Amani.
Earlier this month, Dubai-based airline Emirates banned pagers and walkie-talkies onboard its planes.
Regional tensions have soared since the outbreak of the Gaza war in October last year, drawing in Iran-aligned groups from Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Yemen.
Multiple airlines have in recent weeks suspended flights to Iran following Tehran’s missile attack on Israel on October 1.
Iran fired some 200 missiles at Israel to retaliate against the killing of Tehran-aligned militant leaders in the region and a general in Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.
Israel has since vowed to retaliate, with defence minister Yoav Gallant saying the response will be “deadly, precise, and surprising”.
