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Bulgaria has stepped up security at the Bezmer Air Base after a media report published Wednesday said Iranian forces had assessed potential military targets in south-eastern Europe, according to the country's interior minister.
Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev said Bulgaria had taken "all possible measures" at the base, working in coordination with the defense ministry, Bulgarian news agency BTA reported.
Demerdzhiev said the enhanced measures were intended to address a threat level higher than what security services currently indicate. "We are constantly monitoring the situation and developments and will continue to take precautionary measures that are far more extensive and intensive than the level of threat indicated by the information available at the moment," he said.
The minister's comments followed reports that Iranian forces had assessed possible strikes on US military assets in south-eastern European countries, including Bulgaria.
The security concerns center on Bezmer, which Bulgaria's parliament approved last month for use by US refueling aircraft. On July 22, lawmakers authorized the deployment of up to eight US Air Force KC-135 aerial refueling aircraft and as many as 250 US military personnel to the base, with the deployment running from July 24 to Oct. 1. The stationing is intended to support US operations in the Middle East.
The heightened alert comes against a backdrop of stalled diplomacy between Iran and the United States. The two countries signed a memorandum of understanding in June aimed at ending a war that began in late February and at paving the way toward a broader agreement, but talks have since stalled over disputes concerning its implementation and over navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.
Separate negotiations involving Iran and Oman over arrangements for passage through the strategically important waterway have also continued without a breakthrough.
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