Bulgaria firmly denies involvement in deadly pager explosions in Lebanon, Syria

Bulgaria has firmly rejected any allegations linking it to the recent pager explosions in Lebanon and Syria.

Caretaker Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev stated that Bulgaria has nothing to do with the manufacture and transit of the pagers that have been detonated in Lebanon and Syria, Caliber.Az reports referring to foreign media.

He emphasized that the country is also not involved in the customs clearance of these goods.

Glavchev's comments were prompted by a report from the Hungarian news outlet, which claimed that the sale of the pagers to Hezbollah, responsible for killing 37 people and injuring over 3,000, was facilitated by Sofia-based company Norta Global Ltd. The Prime Minister clarified that "the only thing that happened were invoiced cash flows," explaining that banks require invoices to specify the reasons for transfers, which in this case indicated payments for services rather than goods.

He further noted that the company in question is owned by a Norwegian national who has never visited Bulgaria, asserting that the financial transactions passing through Bulgaria are unrelated to the disputed goods.

On the same day, Bulgaria's State Agency for National Security (DANS) announced that a joint investigation with the Interior Ministry and the National Customs Agency confirmed that devices similar to those detonated in Lebanon and Syria had not been imported, exported, or manufactured in Bulgaria. The agency found no evidence linking Norta Global EOOD to any financial activities that could be classified as terrorist financing, nor had it engaged in trade with any individuals sanctioned by the UN or EU.

The explosions, which occurred on September 17-18 resulted in the deaths of 37 individuals and injuries to more than 3,250, including women and children. Beirut and Hezbollah have accused Israel of orchestrating the attacks, with multiple media reports alleging that small explosive charges were placed inside imported pager devices and detonated remotely.

Israel has not commented on the situation, although the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu distanced itself from a post by advisor Topaz Luk, which implied potential Israeli responsibility for the explosions before it was deleted.