Report: Hungary offered Iran intel on Hezbollah pager attack by Israel

Hungary reportedly offered to share intelligence with Iran about Israel’s deadly 2024 pager attack targeting Hezbollah operatives, raising questions regarding Budapest’s geopolitical standing.

The Washington Post said Wednesday that it obtained a Hungarian government transcript of a September 30, 2024, call between Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto and his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi during which Szijjarto told Araghchi that Budapest’s intelligence services had already reached out and would share all information gathered in their investigation into the incident. The Post said the transcript was also verified by a Western intelligence agency.

The outreach from Szijjarto to Araghchi came shortly after thousands of pagers used by Hezbollah members exploded in Lebanon, killing at least 12 people and wounding nearly 3,000 on September 17.

At the time, Hungary was drawn into the spotlight after a Taiwanese company whose branding appeared on the devices said they had been manufactured by a Hungarian firm under license.

Szijjarto sought to distance Hungary from the attack, with the transcript quoting him as having told Araghchi during the call that the pagers “are not produced in Hungary, they have never been to Hungary and no Hungarian company has never been related with these pagers physically. So we don’t have anything to do with it!”

Araghchi, in turn, expressed gratitude for Hungary’s efforts, telling Szijjarto that he was “very grateful for you doing all of this.”

Hungary’s willingness to cooperate with Iran — Hezbollah’s main backer — appears to sit uneasily with Hungary’s official stance as one of Israel’s most reliable supporters within Europe. Budapest has frequently backed Israel in international forums and maintains close ties with both Israeli and American leadership.

Just last month, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu effectively endorsed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in the country’s elections next week, saying the strongman leader “has been like a rock.”

During a visit to Hungary, US Vice President JD Vance similarly showed support for Orbán’s election campaign on Tuesday, saying at a pro-Orbán rally that he was in Budapest “to help him in this campaign cycle.”

A former White House official told the Post that while Hungary may have been attempting to ease tensions with Tehran following the attack, the move runs counter to its publicly stated pro-Israel policy.

“Hungary is one of the most supportive of Israel in its official policy. They are one of the only countries that consistently vote with the US when the rest of Europe abstains,” the official said.

The report noted that the communication has prompted concern among Western officials, particularly given Hungary’s broader positioning, which has included maintaining ties with Russia, a key Iranian ally.