Iran warns Bulgaria over US tanker deployment at Bezmer

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi conducted a series of urgent diplomatic calls on July 30 and 31, warning European and other governments against facilitating U.S. military operations in the Middle East and urging them to maintain neutrality. The outreach focused primarily on Bulgaria and Cyprus, as Tehran seeks to dissuade foreign support for U.S. actions it views as aggression.

In a call on July 30 with Bulgarian Foreign Minister Velislava Petrova-Chamova, Araghchi strongly condemned Bulgaria's decision to host U.S. military aircraft. He specifically criticized the Bulgarian parliament's authorization last week for the temporary deployment of up to eight U.S. Air Force KC-135 aerial refueling tankers and up to 250 personnel at Bezmer Air Base from July 24 through October 1. Araghchi stated the move was unacceptable and inconsistent with the countries' traditionally friendly relations, urging Sofia to urgently reconsider.

The Iranian minister cited Article 3 of the UN General Assembly Resolution 3314 on the Definition of Aggression, arguing that allowing one state's territory to be used by another to attack a third state constitutes participation in an act of aggression....