{"id":2588589,"date":"2026-04-08T14:53:02","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T18:53:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hungary-claims-intelligence-services-tapped-foreign-ministers-phone\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T14:55:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T18:55:11","slug":"hungary-claims-intelligence-services-tapped-foreign-ministers-phone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hungary-claims-intelligence-services-tapped-foreign-ministers-phone\/","title":{"rendered":"Hungary claims &#8216;intelligence services&#8217; tapped foreign minister&#8217;s phone"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fhungary-claims-intelligence-services-tapped-foreign-ministers-phone%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2588589&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Hungary is facing heightened claims of foreign interference in its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/navalnys-allies-released-from-house-arrest-in-moscow-court\/\" title=\"Navalny\u2019s allies released from house arrest in Moscow Court\">upcoming parliamentary elections<\/a> after a wave of clandestine leak reports. Key points:<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Leaked recordings reveal Foreign Minister Peter Szijj\u00e1rt\u00f3 discussing with Russia\u2019s Sergey Lavrov-and seeking a meeting between Szijj\u00e1rt\u00f3\u2019s prime minister, Viktor Orb\u00e1n, and Vladimir Putin-about EU debates on Ukraine\u2019s future and Kremlin involvement. szijj\u00e1rt\u00f3 says <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/15-media-personalities-claimed-hunters-laptop-emails-were-likely-russian-propaganda-before-new-york-times-authenticated\/\" title=\"15 Media Personalities Claimed Hunter\u2019s Laptop Emails Were Likely Russian Propaganda Before New York Times Authenticated\">foreign intelligence services<\/a> and an unnamed Hungarian journalist tapped his phone to undermine Orb\u00e1n\u2019s government.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; One recording includes Lavrov allegedly telling Szijj\u00e1rt\u00f3 that \u201cgood-willed direct blackmailing\u201d can be effective.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; A July 2024 recording shows Szijj\u00e1rt\u00f3 seeking to arrange a Putin-Orb\u00e1n meeting, underscoring deep Kremlin outreach.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; the leaks also include a Washington Post report based on government transcripts, showing Szijj\u00e1rt\u00f3 telling Iranian <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/off-to-a-bad-start-putin-schools-biden-with-one-phone-call\/\" title=\"Off to a Bad START: ... Schools Biden with One ... Call\">foreign minister<\/a> Abbas Araghchi that Hungary was not involved in an Israeli operation against Hamas in 2024.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Bloomberg published transcripts of a 2025 call in which Orb\u00e1n pledged to assist Putin \u201cin any matter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; U.S. Vice President JD Vance has publicly campaigned for orb\u00e1n, prompting European Union officials to say they will use diplomatic channels to raise concerns about interference. Some European officials accuse Vance of meddling by visiting hungary ahead of the election.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The disclosures have intensified political tension in Hungary,with opposition TISZA leading in polls against Orb\u00e1n\u2019s FIDESZ party,which remains behind in public support.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Hungary claims &lsquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/grassley-docs-show-fbi-never-followed-up-on-russia-hoax-info\/\" title=\"Grassley: Docs Show FBI &#039;Never Followed Up On&#039; Russia Hoax Info\">intelligence services&#038;rsquo<\/a>; tapped foreign minister&rsquo;s phone<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2554039\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Hungary&rsquo;s accusations of &ldquo;foreign interference&rdquo; in their upcoming parliamentary election have reached a crescendo with the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/my-europe\/2026\/04\/08\/new-leaks-reveal-szijjarto-briefing-russias-lavrov-on-key-eu-summit\">release of clandestinely recorded conversations<\/a> between the country&rsquo;s foreign minister and his counterparts.<\/p>\n<p>A series of reports appeared in the Hungarian press on Wednesday documenting Foreign Minister <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3337894\/hungarian-foreign-minister-says-ukraine-nato-membership-impossible\/\">Peter Szijjarto&rsquo;s<\/a> phone conversations with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of European Union summits. The recordings and their transcripts show how Szijjarto kept the Kremlin informed of EU debates regarding the future of Ukrainian membership in the confederation.<\/p>\n<p>Szijjarto <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/FM_Szijjarto\/status\/2041909854286004343\">accused<\/a> &ldquo;certain foreign intelligence services,&rdquo; working with an unnamed Hungarian journalist, of having &ldquo;wiretapped&rdquo; his phone conversations in an attempt to undermine Prime Minister Viktor Orban&rsquo;s government.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto speaks during a press conference after talks with his Serbian counterpart Nikola Selakovic, in Belgrade, Serbia, Monday, Feb. 7, 2022. Szijjarto is on a one-day visit to Serbia. | (Darko Vojinovic\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In one recording gathered while Szijjarto was attending an EU summit in December 2023, Lavrov is documented telling the foreign minister that &ldquo;sometimes good-willed direct blackmailing is the best option.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Another recording from July 2024 shows Szijjarto called Lavrov seeking to arrange a meeting between Orban and Russian President Vladimir Putin.<\/p>\n<p>The audio recordings, shared by outlets including VSquare, Frontstory, Delfi Estonia, the Insider, and the Investigative Centre of Jan Kuciak, seem to have been clandestinely gathered.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Foreign intelligence interference in Hungary&rsquo;s parliamentary election continues in an unusually aggressive and open manner,&rdquo; Szijjarto said on social media, dismissing the reports as presenting nothing new about Hungary&rsquo;s various geopolitical positions.<\/p>\n<p>Separately, the <em>Washington Post<\/em> <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/world\/2026\/04\/08\/hungary-iran-hezbollah-trump-orban\/\">published a story<\/a> on Wednesday documenting how Szijjarto stressed to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi that Hungary was not involved in the Israeli operation to detonate pagers held by members of Hamas in 2024.<\/p>\n<p>The report was based on government transcripts &ldquo;obtained and authenticated by a Western intelligence service.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Just a day before these latest leaks, <em>Bloomberg<\/em> published transcripts of a 2025 phone call between Orban and Putin in which the Hungarian leader vowed to help the Russian president in &ldquo;any matter where I can be of assistance.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The leaks amount to a veritable blitzkrieg of counterintelligence against the Orban government as <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/jd-vance\/\">U.S. Vice President JD Vance<\/a> rallies for the floundering leader ahead of Sunday&rsquo;s election.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Unfortunately, there have been too few people who have been willing to stand up for the values of Western civilization,&rdquo; the vice president said on Tuesday. &ldquo;Viktor Orban is the rare exception that has unfortunately proved the rule.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Vance said at a news conference upon arriving in Hungary yesterday that &ldquo;what has happened in this country, what has happened in the midst of this election campaign, is one of the worst examples of foreign election interference that I&rsquo;ve ever seen or ever even read about.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, right, shakes hands with U.S. Vice President JD Vance, in Budapest, Hungary, Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (Jonathan Ernst\/Pool Photo via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>He expressed particular ire for European Union officials, who he accused of having &ldquo;done everything that they can to hold down the people of Hungary because they don&rsquo;t like the leader who has actually stood up for the people of Hungary.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>These accusations ruffled feathers in Brussels, with EU foreign spokeswoman Anitta Hipper&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/live\/2026\/apr\/08\/jd-vance-hungary-viktor-orban-election-nato-europe-latest-news-updates\">telling reporters<\/a> on Wednesday that European officials would be using &ldquo;diplomatic channels&rdquo; to &ldquo;convey our concerns to our U.S. counterparts&rdquo; after Vance accused the confederation of &ldquo;foreign interference&rdquo; against Prime Minister Viktor Orban.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We have appropriate channels, appropriate frameworks, diplomatic contacts,&rdquo; Hipper said. &ldquo;And that is where we will be bringing the discussions with the United States if they consider it something worthwhile pursuing with us.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Other European officials pointed the finger back at the vice-president, saying his speaking tour in support of the Hungarian prime minister amounted to interference.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I would like to point out &mdash; since Vance is complaining about the EU&rsquo;s alleged interference in the election &mdash; that the U.S. vice president was in Hungary just a few days before the election,&rdquo; German deputy government spokesperson Sebastian Hille <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.eu\/article\/germany-rebuke-jd-vance-claim-eu-interferes-hungary-election\/\">said<\/a> of Vance&rsquo;s accusations. &ldquo;This fact alone speaks for itself as to who is interfering.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4518611\/vance-orban-win-hunary-election-interference\/\">VANCE INSISTS &lsquo;ORBAN IS GOING TO WIN&rsquo; AS HUNGARY OPPOSITION SAYS RESULTS &lsquo;NOT WRITTEN IN WASHINGTON&rsquo;<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Peter Magyar, leader of the&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4493193\/viktor-orban-uphill-battle-hold-leadership\/\">opposition TISZA party<\/a>&nbsp;that is currently beating Orban in the polls, was intensely frustrated by the U.S. deploying its second-highest leader to stump for the prime minister, writing on social media that &ldquo;no foreign country may interfere in Hungarian elections.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This is our country,&rdquo; Magyar said. &ldquo;Hungarian history is not written in Washington, Moscow, or Brussels &mdash; it is written in Hungary&rsquo;s streets and squares.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>TISZA currently holds a&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.eu\/europe-poll-of-polls\/hungary\/\">double-digit lead<\/a>&nbsp;over Orban&rsquo;s FIDESZ party, with polls from the end of last month putting its public support at 49% compared to 39% for FIDESZ.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hungary says intel services tapped its FM line<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3468,"featured_media":2588590,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/peter-szijjarto-e1775672956786.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[75327,12874,4786,77417],"class_list":["post-2588589","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-foreign-minister-2","tag-hungary","tag-intelligence","tag-phone-tapping"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/peter-szijjarto-e1775672956786.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2588589","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3468"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2588589"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2588589\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2588593,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2588589\/revisions\/2588593"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2588590"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2588589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2588589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2588589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}