JD Vance’s visit to Hungary to show support for its far-right leader has been marred by reports that the European country’s government offered support to Iran in the wake of an Israeli attack.
A leading member from the pro-Trump Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government called a top Iranian official in September 2024 following the large-scale explosive pager attack that Israel was accused of carrying out in Lebanon against Hezbollah, a group designated a terrorist organization by the U.S.
“Our secret service has already contacted your services and we will share all the information we have gathered during the investigation,” Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó told his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi on September 30, according to a transcript obtained by The Washington Post. “Every possible document will be shared with your services.”
Details of the call, in which Hungary offered aid to a country the U.S. has been at war with for more than a month, will likely cause further headaches for Vance and the rest of the Trump administration.
The vice president traveled to Hungary’s capital, Budapest, on Tuesday to show support for Orbán ahead of an April 12 election that the top Trump ally could lose after 16 years in power.
On the morning of Vance’s Hungary trip, Bloomberg reported that Orbán had called Russian President Vladimir Putin in October 2025 to offer help to Moscow “in any way” to win the war in Ukraine, adding: “In any matter where I can be of assistance, I am at your service.”
Vance has also experienced other awkward moments during his European trip. During a “Hungarian-American Friendship Day” rally in Budapest to support Orbán, Vance attempted to call Trump during his speech, but the president did not pick up and the call went to voicemail. Vance eventually managed to get through to Trump after several excruciating seconds of silence on stage.
Vance was also advised to check his phone during a press conference, as the vice president appeared aware that Trump had threatened that a “whole civilization will die tonight” unless Iran reached a deal on the war by Tuesday night.
Szijjártó had called Araghchi to reassure Iran that Hungary had nothing to do with the 2024 attack, when around 2,800 pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon, leaving dozens dead and thousands more injured.
At the time, the Taiwanese brand whose name appeared on the pagers used in the attack alleged the devices were actually made by a Budapest-based firm, BAC Consulting KFT.
“These pagers are not produced in Hungary, they have never been to Hungary, and no Hungarian company has ever been physically related to these pagers. So we don’t have anything to do with it,” Szijjártó said.
Hungary’s foreign minister added to Araghchi: “If you need any further information or wish to contact me, then I am always at your service.” Araghchi also told Szijjártó he was “very grateful” for Hungary’s assistance in the wake of the pager attack.
The call also contradicts Orbán’s fervent support for Israel, which is said to have persuaded Trump to join the bombing campaign against Tehran on February 28.
Vance is still in Hungary and discussed the two-week Iran war ceasefire during an event at the Mathias Corvinus Collegium in Budapest on Wednesday.
The Daily Beast has contacted Vance’s and Orbán’s offices for comment.
