Iran warns Bulgaria against hosting US warplanes

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman warned Bulgaria on Tuesday not to allow the US to use the European country’s territory ‌for military operations against Iran.

Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said any activity that facilitates US attacks on Iran would amount to complicity in what he described as “aggression and war crimes”, according to Iranian state media quoted by Reuters.

The warning follows word from the Bulgarian government that it would seek parliamentary approval to station up to eight U.S. tanker aircraft at an air base in Bulgaria, a member of NATO and the European Union.

Baghaei urged ‌Bulgaria ⁠not to become “an accomplice of aggressors and lawbreakers”, they said. The tanker aircraft are mainly used for airborne refuelling of other aircraft, including during strikes.

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Bulgaria’s government ⁠aims to station the U.S. aircraft at the Bezmer military facility, about 260 km (160 miles) southeast ⁠of the capital Sofia.

The U.S. and Iran have intensified strikes since an interim ceasefire ⁠deal signed a month ago unraveled, raising the possibility of a return to all-out war.

Bulgaria’s government has called for hostilities involving Iran to end. It has not announced a decision to host U.S. military aircraft amid an internal debate on the issue.