Hungary Offered Help to Iran After Israel's Pager Operation in Lebanon, Report Says

A report published last night (Wednesday) in the Washington Post revealed that shortly after Israel's pager operation in Lebanon, Hungary—one of Israel's and the U.S.'s closest allies in Europe—offered assistance to Iran.

According to the report, in a phone call intercepted by a Western intelligence service, Hungary's foreign minister, Peter Szijjarto, told his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi: "Our intelligence services have already been in contact with yours, and we will share all the information we gathered during the investigation". He added: "Every possible document will be transferred to your intelligence services, if you need more information or want to reach me - I am always at your service".

The Taiwanese company whose branding appeared on the devices that exploded in Lebanon claimed they were manufactured by a Hungarian company. Szijjarto clarified in the call that his country had no connection to the Israeli operation, and said: "These pagers were not manufactured in Hungary, they were never in Hungary, and no Hungarian company was physically connected to these pagers. Therefore we have nothing to do with this!".

Hungarian government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs then reinforced the official line and emphasized that the company mentioned was only "an intermediary", and that it has no factory within the country.

The very existence of the call between a senior figure in Orban's government and Iran's foreign minister raises questions about Budapest's policy. This is especially true in light of Orban's close relationship with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who often praises him publicly and even expressed support ahead of the upcoming elections in Hungary. U.S. President Donald Trump has also repeatedly expressed his admiration for Orban.

A former White House official addressed the report and said that although he is not surprised by the Hungarian attempt to avoid escalation with Iran, the very call runs contrary to Budapest's public line: "Hungary is one of the most pro-Israel countries, and one of the few that consistently votes with the U.S. when the rest of Europe abstains. At the very least this contradicts its policy. I wouldn't imagine a British foreign minister doing something like this".