Revealed: Trump's favorite European leader offered help to Iran

Former President Donald Trump (L) and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán (R) in August of 2022 (Image: Orbán Viktor / Facebook)

Despite the adoration President Viktor Orbán's far-right government gets from American conservatives and U.S. President Donald Trump, according to a new report from the Washington Post, Hungary reached out to offer help to Iran after a major attack in late 2024.

The incident in question took place in September 2024 and saw Israel cause "thousands" of pagers owned by the militant group Hezbollah to explode. Hezbollah is designated by the U.S. government as a terrorist group, with Iran being its main sponsor. The explosions ultimately killed 12 people and left as many as 2,800 injured.

In a report released Wednesday morning, the Post revealed correspondence between Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto and his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, in which he pledged that Hungary would aid Iran in the wake of the pager attack. This was based on "a copy of a Hungarian government transcript of the Sept. 30 call obtained and authenticated by a Western intelligence service and reviewed by The Washington Post."

"Our secret service has already contacted your services and we will share all the information we have gathered during the investigation," Szijjarto told Araghchi during the phone call. "Every possible document will be shared with your services."

Hungary had been implicated in the attack, in a way, after the "Taiwanese company whose brand was on the devices had told reporters they were manufactured by a Hungarian company under a licensing agreement." Szijjarto stressed to his Iranian counterpart that Hungary had not been involved with the attack in any way.

"But the call — and Szijjarto’s apparent readiness to curry favor with Iran’s foreign minister — pose uncomfortable questions about the Orban government’s relationship with Iran at a time when the Trump administration is locked in conflict with Tehran while at the same time the White House is providing support to Orban’s reelection campaign in a high-stakes election," the Post explained.

Hungary's government has been widely considered to be a dictatorship since Orbán ascended to power in 2010, and the leader himself has been described by many as a puppet of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Despite those criticisms, he has nonetheless become a darling of the global far-right political movement, including the MAGA movement in the U.S., with conservatives closely studying the tactics he used to consolidate power and take control of Hungarian media outlets, tactics which the second Trump administration has attempted to emulate. Trump has also enthusiastically endorsed Orbán as he faces dwindling reelection odds in the upcoming Hungarian election, lagging in polls behind a center-right opponent.

"Orban’s government has been a bastion of support for the MAGA movement with Orban at the forefront of efforts to present a Christian nationalist front against migrants across Europe, while at the same time aligning himself with Russian President Vladimir Putin," the Post's report added.

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