Tehran issued a new warning to Bulgaria due to the decision of the authorities in Sofia to allow the deployment of US military aircraft on Bulgarian territory. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghai said that the officials who voted and approved this action must bear responsibility for the consequences of the step, which he described as dangerous.
In his official statement, the representative of the foreign ministry in Tehran emphasized that the Iranian side has data on previous cases in which Sofia airport was used to logistically support US military operations directed against Iran.
According to the Iranian Foreign Ministry, the decision to provide a base for the US Air Force carries direct responsibility.
“The decision-makers in Bulgaria must bear responsibility for the dangerous decision to deploy an American aerial refueling aircraft at their military bases,“ said Esmail Baghai.
As part of his position, the Iranian diplomat also addressed the citizens of Bulgaria directly. He recalled that the Iranian people have never had conflicts with Bulgarian society and that bilateral relations between the two countries have traditionally been built on the basis of mutual respect for decades.
The latest reaction from Tehran comes just days after the Bulgarian parliament gave the green light on July 22 for the temporary deployment of up to eight American aircraft and 250 military personnel at the Bezmer air base. The decision was previously supported by the parliamentary Defense Committee, with its officially declared goal being to support international operations in the Middle East region.
The current position represents a further escalation of Iran's initial reaction from last week. At that time, Iranian diplomats warned their Bulgarian colleagues that facilitating American military actions would be perceived as complicity in aggression.
Tehran's warning notes to Washington's partners in Eastern Europe are not an isolated case. Earlier this year, Iranian Ambassador to Sofia Ali Reza Irvash declared that his country would not bow to external pressure, and similar signals were sent to Romania regarding the use of its military bases.
The Bulgarian diplomatic service has already had occasion to comment on similar cases. In April, then-Foreign Minister Nadezhda Neynski described a previous diplomatic note from Tehran as a warning sign, not a direct military threat. During the same period, talks were also held with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan regarding the risks of instability in the Middle East and potential migratory pressure towards the borders of the European Union.