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 Organization 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 defense minister Yoav Gallant saying the response will be “deadly, precise, and surprising.”
Iran bans pagers, walkie-talkies on flights after Lebanon attacks
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Iran bans pagers, walkie-talkies on flights after Lebanon attacks
- Ban imposed weeks after deadly sabotage attacks in Lebanon which were blamed on Israel
Supporters of Tunisia’s Saied rally amid deepening political divisions
- Rights groups have accused Saied of an unprecedented crackdown on the opposition
TUNIS: Tunisian President Kais Saied’s supporters rallied in the capital on Wednesday calling the opposition “traitors,” following mounting street protests in recent weeks that have highlighted widening political divisions.
The rival rallies come amid a deepening economic crisis marked by high inflation, shortages of some basic goods and poor public services, which have fueled public anger.
Rights groups have accused Saied of an unprecedented crackdown on the opposition, saying he is using the judiciary and police to stifle criticism. Saied rejects the accusations, saying he is cleansing the country of traitors and a corrupt elite.
Demonstrators gathered in central Tunis waving national flags and chanting slogans backing Saied, whom they credit with confronting corruption and entrenched political elites.
They accused Saied’s opponents of seeking to destabilize the country, describing them as “traitors.” They chanted “people want Saied again” and “we support the leadership and sovereignty.”
“We are here to rescue Tunisia from traitors and colonial lackeys,” protester Saleh Ghiloufi said.
Saied’s critics say arrests of opposition leaders, civil society groups and journalists underscore an authoritarian turn by the president since he took on extraordinary powers in 2021 to rule by decree.
The powerful UGTT union has called a nationwide strike next month.
A Tunisian court last week sentenced prominent opposition figure Abir Moussi to 12 years in prison, in what critics say is another step toward entrenching Saied’s one-man rule.
While an appeals court last month handed jail terms of up to 45 years to dozens of opposition leaders, business people and lawyers on charges of conspiracy to overthrow Saied.
Saied was elected in 2019 with an overwhelming mandate, but his consolidation of power has alarmed domestic opponents and international partners, who warn Tunisia is retreating from democratic governance.
