SOFIA, September 19. /TASS/. Bulgaria did not supply the Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah movement with the pagers that later exploded, nor did it act as an intermediary in trade operations, the country's State National Security Agency said in response to statements made by Hungarian media.

"Following media reports claiming that a Bulgaria-based firm delivered batches of communication equipment (pagers) to the Hezbollah organization, which later exploded in Lebanon and Syria, the Agency clarifies that no customs operations involving such goods were conducted through Bulgarian territory," the press service said in a statement.

It also said that it had initiated inspections "regarding the involvement of the company registered in Bulgaria" in cooperation with relevant agencies. According to Bulgarian National Television (BNT), the company Norta Global Ltd is registered at the address of a foreign national and conducts no activities in Bulgaria.

Earlier, the Hungarian portal Telex claimed that the pagers that exploded in Lebanon may have been purchased from the Taiwanese company Gold Apollo by the Bulgarian firm Norta Global Ltd, rather than the Hungarian company BAC Consulting. According to the report, BAC Consulting, registered in Budapest, acted only as an intermediary, facilitating the agreement with the Taiwanese firm, while the Sofia-based Norta Global Ltd was directly involved in procuring the pagers. Telex alleges that Norta Global Ltd "organized the delivery and sold" the pagers to Hezbollah.

The portal noted that the devices had "never been in Hungary." It also highlighted that the Bulgarian company was founded in 2022 and is owned by a Norwegian national. The enterprise is involved in "project management but does not produce anything." The portal also pointed out that 196 other companies are registered at the same address.

Multiple explosions of communication devices occurred in Lebanon on September 17 and 18. On the first day, a large number of pagers blew up almost simultaneously in various regions of Lebanon. According to the country’s Health Ministry, 12 people, including two children, were killed, and 2,800 more were hospitalized. On the following day, a new wave of blasts swept across Lebanon. This time, walkie-talkies, phones, fingerprint scanners, as well as devices operating on solar and lithium-ion batteries exploded. At least 20 were killed and 460 were injured in the repeat attack.

The New York Times, citing sources, later reported that Israel had long been preparing this sophisticated operation inside Lebanon, setting up in advance a bogus company to manufacture communication devices rigged with explosives.