Caretaker Defence Minister: US has not requested to base aircraft in Bulgaria for operations against Iran

The United States has not made any requests to base aircraft in Bulgaria to use in its operation against Iran, caretaker Defence Minister Atanas Zapryanov told reporters on March 11.

Zapryanov said that such requests are not expected.

He was commenting against a background of reports that Washington had made such a request to Romania . 

The Greek Patriot air defence system has been on duty since 4pm, and we have full cover, Zapryanov said.

As The Sofia Globe reported, on March 6 Greek Minister of National Defence Nikos Dendias announced that the country will provide support to Bulgaria with air defence assets and personnel, which will be deployed in northern Greece and will cover a large part of Bulgarian territory.

Dendias is scheduled to visit Bulgaria on March 12.

Two high-ranking Greek military officers are already deployed in Bulgaria and are coordinating the work of the Patriot with the Bulgarian air defence.

Zapryanov said that Bulgaria and Greece have an agreement on cross-border military operations, which allows for seamless joint combat duty of fighter jets on the territory of both countries. This means that aircraft can safely enter and exit the borders.

He said that Bulgaria has not given missiles to anyone, that the air defence missiles are in Bulgaria, and that Bulgaria’s air defence is very well prepared and participates in the defence.

Apart from the Patriot system transferred to northern Greece, air protection of Bulgaria is also provided by missile systems in Romania and Türkiye.