Overview
- Bulgaria’s parliament voted overwhelmingly to permit U.S. use of Bezmer, approving up to eight KC-135 tanker aircraft, 250 personnel and supporting equipment through Oct. 1.
- Lawmakers relied on a 2006 U.S.-Bulgaria defense agreement that designates Bezmer as a joint-use facility and requires only parliamentary clearance for a temporary deployment.
- Prime Minister Rumen Radev and Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov framed the move as strictly logistical, saying the tankers will fuel aircraft outside Bulgarian airspace and that Sofia obtained guarantees to limit security risks.
- Some Bulgarian lawmakers voiced fear of entanglement in the Iran conflict and Iran’s foreign ministry warned against allowing bases to be used for operations targeting Iran.
- There was no immediate U.S. comment, the deployment underscores wider European unease over hosting U.S. operations in the current Iran war and could prompt diplomatic pushback from EU partners.