That ruptured pipeline has now become even more politically sensitive thanks to the supply crisis in the Persian Gulf.
Orbán is a close ally of Donald Trump, and the Iran war is a rare point of dissonance between him and the U.S. president. Still, the main target of Orbán’s attacks is not Washington but the domestic opposition, which he claims put Hungary in a vulnerable position by siding with the EU and Ukraine rather than fighting to preserve Russian oil supplies.
Orbán and his ruling Fidesz party are also playing up alleged security threats from the war in the Middle East — raising the country’s terror level.
Orbán plays the energy card
“Developments involving Iran may have an indirect impact on Hungary’s security, with particular regard to our energy security,” Orbán said on Sunday. “Due to the conflict, significant energy price increases are expected on global markets. In this situation, it is crucial that we break President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy’s oil blockade against Hungary.”
The Hungarian prime minister’s political director, Balázs Orbán, on Monday pushed to make the link to Magyar, accusing him of “acting against the Hungarian people” by teaming up with Brussels and Kyiv on oil supplies.
“[Magyar] dismissed the government’s warnings about the Ukrainian oil blockade as fearmongering and panic-mongering, claiming there is no danger and no war, while at the same time openly campaigning for Hungary’s detachment from Russian energy — the very core of the Brussels- and Kyiv-backed program he represents,” he said.