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21 Jul 2026, 18:26

The Defense Committee of the Bulgarian Parliament approved on Tuesday, July 30, the government's plan to temporarily station American refueling aircraft and military personnel at the Bezmer Air Base; a move that was accompanied by a warning from the Islamic Republic to Sofia.

According to a report by the official Bulgarian news agency, the Defense Committee supported a draft resolution from the Council of Ministers, which allows for a maximum of eight American refueling aircraft and 250 military personnel to be temporarily stationed at the Bezmer Air Base in southeastern Bulgaria to support U.S. operations in the Middle East.

The report states that the U.S. has requested this deployment to last from July 24 to October 1.

In response to a question from CNN regarding this deployment, U.S. Central Command, CENTCOM, stated: "For operational security reasons, we do not comment on troop movements or potential future force posture."

Hours earlier, the Islamic Republic warned the Bulgarian government not to use its territory or facilities to support U.S. military operations against Iran.

Ismail Baqaei, spokesperson for the Islamic Republic's Foreign Ministry, stated that any participation in the planning or execution of such operations would be considered complicity in "aggression and war crimes." He also urged the Bulgarian Parliament to oppose this plan.

Bulgaria, a NATO member, has made the Bezmer Air Base available to the armed forces of both countries under a bilateral defense cooperation agreement signed in 2006.
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