Bulgaria set to vote on US tanker aircraft deployment amid Iran warnings

DUBAI: Bulgaria’s parliament is expected to vote on a proposal to allow up to eight US tanker aircraft to be stationed at Bezmer Air Base, after the plan was approved by the parliamentary Defence Committee.
The deployment, requested by Washington to support US military operations in the Middle East, would include KC-135 aerial refuelling aircraft and up to 250 US military personnel, according to Bulgarian authorities.
The aircraft are expected to be stationed at the southeastern Bulgarian base from July 24 to Oct. 1 under the Bulgaria-US Defence Cooperation Agreement.
The move has drawn warnings from Iran, which has cautioned Bulgaria against allowing its territory to be used for US military operations targeting Tehran.
“The Bulgarian government is well aware that US military attacks constitute a blatant aggression and a gross violation of the United Nations Charter and international law,” Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said.
Prime Minister Rumen Radev said Bulgaria would not allow its territory to be used for combat operations in the Middle East, stressing that the deployment was intended for support purposes.
The Defence Committee approved the proposal on Tuesday with 11 votes in favor, one against and two abstentions, local media reported. Final approval from the National Assembly is still pending.
The decision follows controversy earlier this year after the aircraft were stationed at a civilian airport near the capital Sofia without prior parliamentary approval. The planes left Bulgaria last month.
“The problem was that the military planes were based at a civilian airport in close proximity to Sofia. That is why we proposed to our allies to occupy military airfields,” Radev said at an annual conference of Bulgarian ambassadors in Sofia.

Bulgaria set to vote on US tanker aircraft deployment amid Iran warnings