The allegations, first reported by the government-aligned outlet Mandiner, are based on an audio recording that has not been made public. According to the report, the recording was sent anonymously by a source identifying themselves as “Fourth Estate Agnes”.

Mandiner claims the recording suggests that Szabolcs Panyi, a journalist working with Direkt36 and VSquare, shared Szijjártó’s phone number with an intelligence agency from an EU member state. This, the report alleges, enabled the monitoring of the minister’s phone communications, including metadata such as incoming and outgoing calls.

A transcript excerpt published by public media — though not the full recording — quotes Panyi as saying he provided “two numbers” and was aware that the foreign service already had access to related data. When asked to identify the country involved, he reportedly declined to answer and urged discretion.

The report also alleges that Panyi has close personal ties with Anita Orbán, a foreign policy expert linked to the opposition Tisza Party, led by Péter Magyar. According to the claims, Panyi could potentially influence foreign ministry appointments if the opposition were to come to power.

Public media further suggested that Panyi had previously worked on a Fidesz campaign in 2010 alongside Anita Orbán, and that the two have remained on friendly terms.

The reports do not clarify why Szijjártó’s contact details would need to be supplied, given that such information is typically accessible within diplomatic circles.

Responding to the allegations, Szijjártó described the situation as “astounding”, stating that “one or more foreign intelligence agencies intercepted my calls with the active contribution of a Hungarian journalist.”

He also claimed that the journalist in question is closely connected to the inner circles of the Tisza Party, raising concerns about potential influence over a future foreign ministry.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán called the alleged wiretapping “a serious attack on Hungary” and confirmed that he has instructed the justice minister to immediately investigate the matter.

In a Facebook post, Orbán said that the surveillance of a government minister would constitute a grave breach of national sovereignty.

Opposition figures have strongly rejected the accusations. Anita Orbán dismissed the claims as “mendacious attacks”, suggesting they were intended to divert attention from concerns about Hungary’s current foreign policy direction.

She accused Szijjártó of regularly sharing information from closed EU Council meetings with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

She added that Hungary’s European partners have become reluctant to share sensitive information in EU and NATO settings when Szijjártó is present, describing the situation as “a national tragedy”.

Anita Orbán also denied any coordination with Panyi regarding personnel decisions, calling the allegations about their relationship untrue. She stated that a future Tisza-led government would investigate Hungary’s foreign policy ties with Russia and aim to restore what she described as a more sovereign approach.

As of now, the alleged recording remains unpublished, and Péter Magyar has not publicly responded to the claims.

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