Pagers that exploded in Lebanon and Syria made by company in Budapest: Taiwanese company
Taipei (AP): Taiwanese company Gold Apollo said Wednesday that it authorised its brand on the pagers that exploded in Lebanon and Syria but that another company based in Budapest manufactured them.
Pagers used by the militant group Hezbollah exploded near-simultaneously Tuesday in Lebanon and Syria, killing at least nine people, including an 8-year-old girl, and wounding more than 2,000. Hezbollah and the Lebanese government blamed Israel for what appeared to be a sophisticated remote attack.
The AR-924 pagers were manufactured by BAC Consulting KFT, based in Hungary's capital, according to a statement released Wednesday by Gold Apollo.
“According to the cooperation agreement, we authorise BAC to use our brand trademark for product sales in designated regions, but the design and manufacturing of the products are solely the responsibility of BAC,” the statement read.
Gold Apollo chair Hsu Ching-kuang told journalists Wednesday that his company has had a licensing agreement with BAC for the past three years, but did not provide evidence of the contract.
At about 3:30 pm Tuesday, as people shopped for groceries, sat in cafes or drove cars and motorcycles, the pagers in their hands or pockets started heating up and then exploding — leaving blood-splattered scenes and panicking bystanders.
It appeared that many of those hit were members of Hezbollah, but it was not immediately clear if non-Hezbollah members also carried any of the exploding pagers.
The blasts were mainly in areas where the group has a strong presence, particularly a southern Beirut suburb and in the Beqaa region of eastern Lebanon, as well as in Damascus, according to Lebanese security officials and a Hezbollah official. The Hezbollah official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to talk to the media.
Experts believe explosive material was put into the pagers prior to their delivery and use in a sophisticated supply chain infiltration.
The AR-924 pager, advertised as being “rugged,” contains a rechargeable lithium battery, according to specifications once advertised on Gold Apollo's website before it was apparently taken down Tuesday after the sabotage attack. It could receive texts of up to 100 characters.
It also claimed to have up to 85 days of battery life. That would be crucial in Lebanon, where electricity outages have been common after years of economic collapse. Pagers also run on a different wireless network than mobile phones, making them more resilient in emergencies — one of the reasons why many hospitals worldwide still rely on them.
Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs said from the beginning of 2022 until August 2024, Gold Apollo has exported 260,000 sets of pagers, including more than 40,000 sets between January and August of this year. The ministry said the pagers were exported mainly to European and American countries and that it had no records of direct exports of Gold Apollo pagers to Lebanon.
For Hezbollah, the militants also looked at the pagers as a means to sidestep what's believed to be intensive Israeli electronic surveillance on mobile phone networks in Lebanon.
“The phone that we have in our hands — I do not have a phone in my hand — is a listening device,” warned Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in a February speech.
He later added: “I tell you that the phone in your hands, in your wife's hands, and in your children's hands is the agent. It is a deadly agent, not a simple one. It is a deadly agent that provides specific and accurate information. Therefore, this requires great seriousness when confronting it.”
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Trump urges US allies to send warships to Strait of ?Hormuz as Iran vows to retaliate
Cairo (AP): US President Donald Trump said he hoped allies would send warships to secure the vital Strait of ?Hormuz while Iran urged people to evacuate three ports in the United Arab Emirates as its war with the United States and Israel showed no signs of ending.
Iran's call to evacuate the Middle East's busiest port and two other UAE ports marked the first time it had openly threatened a neighboring country's non-U.S. assets.
Tehran said the U.S. had used “ports, docks and hideouts” in the UAE to launch strikes on Kharg Island, home to the main terminal handling Iran's oil exports, without providing evidence. It urged people to leave areas where it said U.S. forces were sheltering.
Meanwhile, Lebanon's humanitarian crisis deepened, with over 800 people killed and 850,000 displaced as Israel launched waves of strikes against Iran-backed Hezbollah militants.
Iran says the US attacked from close to Dubai
------------------------------------------------
Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said the US attacked Kharg Island and Abu Musa Island from two locations in the UAE, Ras Al-Khaimah and a place “very close to Dubai,” calling that dangerous and saying Iran “will try to be careful not to attack any populated area” there.
US Central Command said it had no response to Iran's claim. A diplomatic adviser to the UAE's president, Anwar Gargash, said on social media the country has the right to defend itself but “still prioritises reason and logic, and continues exercising restraint.”
Iran has fired hundreds of missiles and drones at Arab Gulf neighbours during the war, but it has said it was targeting US assets, even as hits or attempts were reported on civilian ones such as airports and oil fields.
Araghchi said the Strait of Hormuz was closed only to “those who are attacking us and their allies.”
Trump urges allies to send warships to Strait of Hormuz
-----------------------------------------------------------
As global anxiety soars over oil prices and supplies, Trump said Saturday that he hopes China, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK and others send warships to keep the Strait of Hormuz “open and safe.” Britain in response said it was discussing with allies a “range of options” to secure shipping.
Araghchi, in a social media post, urged neighbours to “expel foreign aggressors” and described Trump's call as “begging.”
On Saturday, Iran's joint military command reiterated its threat to attack U.S.-linked “oil, economic and energy infrastructures” in the region if the Islamic Republic's oil infrastructure is hit.
Iran's semiofficial Fars news agency said the Kharg Island strikes caused no damage to oil infrastructure. It said they targeted an air defense facility, a naval base, the airport control tower and an offshore oil company's helicopter hangar.
US identifies 6 killed in military aircraft crash
-----------------------------------------------
The US Department of Defense on Saturday identified six service members who died when the military refueling aircraft they were aboard crashed Thursday while supporting operations against Iran.
The service members were Maj. John A. Klinner, 33; Capt. Ariana G. Savino, 31; Tech. Sgt. Ashley B. Pruitt, 34; Capt. Seth R. Koval, 38; Capt. Curtis J. Angst, 30; and Tech. Sgt. Tyler H. Simmons, 28, according to U.S. officials.
The crash in western Iraq followed an unspecified incident involving two aircraft in “friendly airspace,” according to U.S. Central Command. The other plane landed safety.
