Hungary reportedly offered intelligence to Iran following Israel's pager attack targeting Hezbollah

The Washington Post reported that Hungary offered to share intelligence with the Iranian regime on Israel’s deadly 2024 pager attack in Lebanon targeting the Iranian-backed terrorist militia Hezbollah. Thousands of Hezbollah operatives were maimed or killed in the attack, while Israel also targeted Iranian IRGC officials in Syria.

The report is based on a transcript of a Sept. 30, 2024, phone call between Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto and his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi. An unnamed Western intelligence service has reportedly authenticated the conversation between the two senior officials.

During the phone call, Hungary’s top diplomat reportedly informed his Iranian counterpart that Hungarian intelligence operatives were in contact with Iranian officials regarding the pager explosions. Hungary drew headlines after The New York Times reported that a Hungary-based Israeli shell company had produced the compromised pagers for Hezbollah under a license acquired from a Taiwanese firm. Hungarian officials have denied any involvement in the Israeli covert operation against Hezbollah operatives in Lebanon and have also rejected claims that the pagers were manufactured in the country.

Hungary is officially one of the Jewish state’s strongest supporters in the European Union. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has close relations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and has expressed support for President Donald Trump’s conservative foreign policies. However, Orban also has close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has formed an alliance with the Islamic Republic of Iran. The report is therefore raising questions among Israeli officials concerning Budapest’s true loyalties and priorities. 

A 2024 European report revealed that the Iranian regime is employing terrorist cells and criminal networks to carry out attacks across Europe. Jews, Israelis, and Iranian dissidents are at the top of Tehran’s target list.

Unlike much of Western Europe, Hungary has so far avoided major Islamist-linked terrorist attacks. If accurate, the report could suggest that Hungary attempted to placate the Iranian regime, thereby avoiding Iranian-led attacks on its soil.

The number of violent antisemitic incidents and terrorist attacks in Hungary is low compared to many Western European countries. In contrast, successive Hungarian governments have resisted large-scale Muslim immigration.

During a visit to Budapest in 2024, Israeli Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Minister Amichai Chikli praised the country for protecting its Jewish minority amid rising levels of Jew-hatred across Europe. 

Szijjarto, who hosted Chikli, argued that Hungary’s strict immigration policy had made the country a haven for European Jews. 

“Thanks to a responsible immigration policy, Hungary stands as the safest haven for Jews in Europe today, where the presence of armed guards at their institutions is unnecessary,” Szijjarto said, referring to Jewish institutions in Western Europe that need armed guards and police for protection. 

Last November, Hungary’s minister for European Affairs János Bóka blasted the European Union’s often hostile Israel policy as “wrong from the very beginning.” He explained why Budapest has chosen to develop close relations with the Jewish state. 

“We don’t want to contribute to further wrong choices being made on behalf of the European Union,” Bóka stated. 

Hungary, alongside the Czech Republic, is among a small minority of European countries that have signaled a willingness to relocate their embassies from Tel Aviv to Israel’s capital, Jerusalem.