"The government has not received the former Iranian president. His programme is a university programme," it said in a statement. Hungary hosts central Europe's biggest Jewish community with some 100,000 members. According to Iran's ILNA news agency, Ahmadinejad arrived in Hungary to give a speech and take part in a meeting on environmental issues taking place at the university from May 6 to 10. The 67-year-old, who was Iran's president from 2005 to 2013, is currently a member of an advisory board to supreme leader Ali Khamenei. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has close relations with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu, voicing unequivocal support for Israel's military offensive on Gaza. But Hungary also has a friendly attitude towards Iran. Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto held talks in Tehran this February, marking a rare visit from an EU and NATO member state.
