Orbán’s rep says Hezbollah exploding pagers were ‘never’ in Hungary

Exploding pagers used in an attack on Hezbollah in Lebanon were never in Hungary, a Hungarian government official said Wednesday, denying reported links to a Budapest-based firm.

“Authorities have confirmed that the company in question is a trading intermediary, with no manufacturing or operational site in Hungary,” government spokesperson Zoltán Kovács said. “It has one manager registered at its declared address, and the referenced devices have never been in Hungary.

Earlier Wednesday, Taiwan-based company Gold Apollo said that the AR-924 pagers used in the attack were manufactured and sold by a Hungarian company, BAC Consulting, which had a license to use Gold Apollo’s brand on the pagers.

“Hungarian national security services are cooperating with all relevant international partner agencies and organizations,” added Kovács, a longtime spokesperson for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

“To Hungary, this case poses no national security risk,” he said.

Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group and political party, blamed Israel for the attack, which injured thousands and killed at least 12 people. The blasts took place in Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, and across the country, as well as in Syria.

Lebanon’s Health Minister Firass Abiad said in an interview with Al Jazeera that an eight-year-old girl was among the dead. Iranian state media reported that Mojtaba Amani, Tehran’s ambassador to Lebanon, was also among those injured.

A spokesperson for the European Commission on Wednesday denied that the CEO of the Hungarian firm was employed there, as she had listed the Commission in her work history on LinkedIn — but added it was “checking” whether she had worked for the Commission through “external providers.”

This story is being updated.