The leaders of Slovakia, Hungary and Serbia have long emphasized their loyalty to President Donald Trump, seeking the support of the conservative wing in Washington. But when Trump launched his war with Iran, the mask fell.
Written by: Ivana Stradner
Trump has backed Prime Minister Viktor Orban to the end as the hardline Hungarian leader tries to stay in power in the upcoming elections. But that didn’t stop Orban from quickly raising concerns about Trump’s war. Within hours, he raised the terror threat level in Hungary, warning that a prolonged conflict in the Middle East could trigger new waves of migration from Iran via Turkey and the Balkans. “Hungary must prepare and make sure the dam holds,” Orban stressed.
Orban also lamented the impact of the conflict on Hungary’s energy security, despite the fact that Trump had exempted Orban from sanctions so that Hungary could continue to buy Russian oil. The US and Israeli attacks on Iran, he noted, add a “double threat” to an already strained energy sector, halting the flow of oil from Iran and LNG supplies from Qatar as prices rise. The Hungarian leader discussed this further in a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who thanked him for his “principled” and “sovereign” foreign policy.
Before the war, Hungary had maintained friendly relations with Iran, with officials from both countries describing their diplomatic ties as on the “right track.” Economic cooperation is a key pillar of this relationship. The two countries hold Joint Economic Committee meetings and, in 2024, signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at facilitating trade and investment. Cultural and academic ties are also expanding. In 2025, the countries signed a memorandum of understanding on educational cooperation covering science, technology, medicine, and agriculture.
Turning to Slovakia, Prime Minister Robert Fico was more scathing in his criticism. “The big and the powerful do whatever they want,” the Slovak leader complained, warning that the world order was in “total disintegration.” After Iran responded to the US and Israeli attack by launching missiles and drones at other Middle Eastern countries, Fico justified the Iranian reaction as “natural.” This was despite the fact that before the war, in February, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Fico and pledged to “improve our strong partnership with Slovakia.”
Like Hungary, Slovakia has pursued economic relations with Iran, including in energy, medicine, and agriculture. In 2025, Iranian and Slovak deputy foreign ministers held talks in Bratislava, covering cooperation in political, economic, cultural, academic, and consular fields. The Iranian Chamber of Commerce proposed the establishment of a joint trade committee with Slovakia to deepen economic cooperation.
Finally, Serbia stands out as Tehran’s closest European partner. Before the war, Rubio met with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic to strengthen the partnership through a strategic dialogue. The U.S. Treasury Department also extended a sanctions waiver for Serbia’s Oil Industry, in which Russia’s Gazprom and Gazprom Neft own more than half of the shares, allowing the Balkan country to continue importing crude oil. The United States initially imposed sanctions as part of broader measures targeting the Russian energy sector in response to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
But when Trump launched his operation against Iran, Vučić did not support Washington either. Instead, he complained about the end of “international law.” Vučić later compared the US attacks on Iran to NATO’s intervention against Yugoslavia, an operation he claimed was not really aimed at stopping Serbian President Slobodan Milošević’s ethnic cleansing of Kosovo Albanians, but rather “regime change.”
Belgrade has repeatedly expressed gratitude for Iran's stance on Kosovo, a core foreign policy issue for Serbia, as Tehran continues to refuse to recognize Kosovo's independence. In 2025, the foreign ministers of Serbia and Iran held bilateral political consultations to deepen cooperation. That same year, Serbia and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding on information security and the development of artificial intelligence, indicating that their partnership is evolving beyond traditional diplomacy into security areas.
For years, these self-proclaimed Trump allies have tried to get close to the president when it suits them. But when the going gets tough, their true colors come out and their loyalty fades.
Trump would do well to remember this the next time they ask him for a favor.
Dr. Ivana Stradner is a researcher at the Barish Center for Media Integrity at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD).
The article published in FDD translated by Klankosova.tv
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