The government of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban secretly offered assistance to Iranian intelligence services shortly after Israelʼs large-scale operation to blow up Hezbollah pagers in September 2024.
This is evidenced by transcripts of a telephone conversation between Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó and his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi, which were accessed by journalists from The Washington Post.
“Our secret service has already contacted your services, we will share all the information we have collected during the investigation. All possible documents will be transferred to your services,” Szijjártó Aragácsi said in a conversation on September 30, 2024.
At that time, Hungary was in the spotlight, as the Taiwanese company whose brand was listed on the pagers reported that they were made by the Hungarian company BAC Consulting under a licensing agreement.
Szijjártó told Aragácsi that his country was in no way involved in the bombings in Lebanon. He assured that the pagers were not manufactured in Hungary and that the manufacturing company was only a sales intermediary.
Also during the call, the Hungarian minister assured his Iranian counterpart of full support, including organizing direct contacts between the relevant departments of both countries: "If you need any additional information, I am always at your service."
WP notes that this conversation and Szijjártóʼs apparent willingness to flatter the Iranian foreign minister raise questions, as Hungary officially supports Israel and often votes in its favor in international forums.
The newspaper publishes excerpts from the transcript of the conversation between Szijjarto and Araghchi against the backdrop of the US and Israeli war with Iran, as well as the upcoming parliamentary elections in Hungary, scheduled for April 12.
Viktor Orbán has been publicly supported by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump. US Vice President J.D. Vance also arrived in Budapest this week.
On the eve of the elections, Hungarian investigative journalists published recordings of conversations between Szijjarto and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, which show that in 2023-2025, Szijjarto regularly provided Russia with information about internal discussions in the EU and Hungary, and asked Lavrov to help lift sanctions on Russian oligarchs. It also said that the Hungarian discussed with the Russian a plan to hinder Ukraineʼs accession to the EU.
Hezbollah pagers blown up
On September 17, 2024, hundreds of pagers belonging to members of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group exploded in Lebanon. The next day, a series of explosions occurred, detonating walkie-talkies and radios. The attack killed at least 39 people and injured nearly 3 000, not all of whom were members of the group.
Israel planned the operation long and carefully. Ten years ago, Hezbollah bought more than 16 000 walkie-talkies at a “good price” from a fake company, not suspecting that they were Israeli-made. Mossad hid the explosive device inside the batteries that power the walkie-talkies. These are usually worn in a vest closer to the heart. In 2022, the operation was expanded — pagers were added.
Israeli intelligence specifically chose a sound signal that motivated them to check the incoming message as urgently as possible, then the device exploded. On September 17, 2024, the pagers were detonated because the Mossad feared that Hezbollah was becoming suspicious.
After this operation, the confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah escalated. On September 27, 2024, IDF struck Hezbollah headquarters in the Lebanese capital Beirut — this attack killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. In fact, after this, Israel began to consider itself the winner of the war. Already on November 26, 2024, a ceasefire agreement was signed in Lebanon.
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