PHOTOS, VIDEOS: Israel attacks Iran, flights suspended, Hungarian government introduces security protocols – UPDATED

The Hungarian government has introduced the necessary security protocols in light of the recent Israeli attack on Iran, the foreign minister said on Friday morning, adding that Hungarians in need of assistance should contact Hungary’s embassies in Tel-Aviv and Tehran.

Péter Szijjártó said his ministry had contacted the two embassies and was informed that “staff members are well despite the circumstances” and the two embassies had introduced “the security protocols routinely applied in such situations”.

Hungary has a consular service in both countries; so far, 787 Hungarian nationals have applied for consular protection in Israel, and 14 in Iran, the ministry quoted Szijjártó as saying, in a statement.

Both countries have closed their airports, the statement said. Szijjártó also warned that further drone or missile strikes could not be ruled out, and civilian flights could be restricted in the region, asking travellers to consider those circumstances before setting off for the region in the next few days.

The Hungarian foreign ministry is monitoring developments and will take further measures if necessary, Szijjártó said.

Szijjártó holds consultations with Israeli counterpart by phone

Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó held consultations with Israeli counterpart Gideon Sa’ar over the phone on Friday, and said the government was not aware of any Hungarian citizens in trouble as a result of the crisis in the Middle East. The foreign ministry cited Szijjártó in as saying that the government was making every effort to support Hungarian citizens living or travelling in the region.

“We know of 860 Hungarian citizens in the area affected by the current military activities in the Middle East who have registered for consular protection; the majority is in Israel, while some in Jordan and Iran,” he added.

“Of course, our embassies in the region maintain an extraordinary on-call service, ready to receive calls from Hungarian citizens any time of the day. Several calls and reports have been received by our embassies in the region. Hungarian citizens have mostly asked for information about travel opportunities within the given country, and we certainly gave them the necessary information and help,” he said.

“The most important and best news in this regard is that we are not aware of any Hungarian citizen in trouble, the crisis management platform of the consular service is up and running, so we can easily contact Hungarians living in the region, and they can easily inform our offices if they get it trouble…” he added.

Szijjártó also said that he had recently received a phone call from his Israeli counterpart and briefed him on the reasons for air strikes against Iran last night, and the decision’s background.

“It had been known from various public sources that Israel viewed the nuclear programme of Iran as a very serious risk, and my Israeli counterpart told me that they now considered it justified and timely to take the steps they took early in the morning,” he added.

“I told my Israeli counterpart that Hungary had a vested interest in peace to return to the Middle East. We would like all people in the Middle East to have their right and chance to a peaceful life restored, regardless of their nationality, … religion and place of residence. We would like to see and we hope that the people of the Middle East get their lives back as soon as possible, so they do not have to fear terrorist attacks and rocket attacks every single day,” he added.