Bulgaria’s parliamentary defense committee on Tuesday approved a government proposal to allow the temporary deployment of American refueling tankers and US military personnel at the Bezmer Air Base, a move that prompted a stern warning from Iran against facilitating American military operations.
The committee supported a draft decision of the Council of Ministers allowing up to eight US tanker aircraft and 250 US military personnel to be stationed at the air base in southeastern Bulgaria in support of operations in the Middle East.
The United States requested deployment from July 24 to October 1.
“For operational security reasons, we do not discuss troop movements nor speculate on future force positions,” US Central Command said.
Tehran immediately warned Bulgaria against allowing its territory or facilities to be used in support of U.S. military actions against Iran. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said that any participation in the planning or execution of such operations would constitute cooperation in “the crime of aggression and war crimes.” He urged Bulgaria’s full parliament to reject the deployment. Under a 2006 bilateral Defense Cooperation Agreement, Bulgaria, a NATO ally, has designated Bezmer Air Base as a facility for joint use with the U.S. military.