Overview
- Bulgaria’s Parliament voted 136-13 on Wednesday to permit up to eight U.S. KC-135 refuelling aircraft, 250 personnel and supporting equipment at Bezmer Air Base through Oct. 1.
- Prime Minister Rumen Radev said operations from Bulgarian territory are “categorically out of the question” and described the deployment as strictly logistical in-flight refuelling outside national airspace.
- Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman warned Bulgaria that allowing U.S. use of its bases would amount to complicity in aggression and potential war crimes, a public rebuke delivered before the parliamentary vote.
- Defence Minister Dimitar Stoyanov told lawmakers that Sofia requested and received guarantees from the United States aimed at reducing risks to Bulgarian national security.
- The decision rests on a 2006 U.S.-Bulgaria joint‑use agreement, has stirred domestic concern and EU debate over hosting U.S. support for operations in the Middle East, and the U.S. offered no immediate public comment.