Balgarianovinite.com The presence of up to eight US KC-135 aerial refuelling aircraft at Bezmer Air Base would not make Bulgaria a party to the military action in Iran, President Iliana Iotova said on Tuesday. She was commenting on the Council of Ministers’ proposal to seek Parliament’s approval for the temporary deployment in Bulgaria of the aircraft and up to 250 US military personnel.
Speaking during a visit to Graf Ignatievo Air Base, where she was due to inspect the infrastructure for Bulgaria’s new F-16 Block 70 fighter jets, Iotova said parliamentary approval was mandatory under Bulgarian law and that the Government was complying with the legal requirements.
She expressed the hope that there will be a ceasefire again soon and that the conflict would neither escalate nor expand.
Commenting on the US request, Iotova said the KC-135s were tanker aircraft and would not conduct any operations in Bulgarian airspace. She added that she would wait for Parliament’s debate on the proposal.
Iotova compared the current request with a similar one made at the beginning of her presidential term in late January. She said that at the time neither the Defence Minister nor the Chief of Defence had informed her that tanker aircraft were stationed at Sofia Airport. Unlike then, when the diplomatic note was not made public and the requested arrangements remained unknown, she said she had been informed before the current note by the US Embassy was officially received.
US Air Force aerial refuelling aircraft were stationed at Sofia Airport in February. Initially, they were to stay there until the end of May, and then the deployment period was extended until the end of June. The aircraft left Sofia Airport by the deadline.
Regarding the letter from Democratic Bulgaria calling on her to convene the Consultative Council on National Security, Iotova said she received it on Monday and will gather her team to review the requests. “I will likely also have an informal conversation with them beforehand, because they change the topics regarding the Council every day. The other day, they were asking about the new chair of the State Agency for National Security [Plamen Tonchev],” she noted.
In Monday’s letter, Democratic Bulgaria argue that the war in Ukraine, instability in the Black Sea region, escalating tensions in the Middle East, and the changing security environment in Europe require a comprehensive assessment of the threats and a common position by the responsible State institutions.
“Democratic Bulgaria, along with other political forces, did everything possible to strip the president of powers regarding the country’s special services, and now they want the Consultative Council to be convened over the State Agency for National Security appointment. Does it not seem to you that this is a bit much?” Yotova commented. US Tanker Aircraft at Bezmer Air Base Would Not Make Bulgaria Party to Military Action in Iran, President Says 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-07-21 11:07:00 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law