Concerns are justified: why Bulgarians don't want US aircraft at their airbase

Bulgaria is making its voice heard. A peaceful protest against US military aid took place in the town of Bezmer. People are outraged and shocked by Sofia's decision to allow the US Air Force to temporarily station tanker aircraft at the local airbase. "This is not our war," protesters declared.

Bulgarian Resident

"What is happening is deeply alarming, and Rumen Radev is doing the wrong thing. He is lying to the Bulgarian people. He gave people hope, and now he has changed his mind. What do we owe the Americans? When did they help us? What would they do if we didn't support them? Are they using us? Do they even know where Bulgaria is? I am extremely outraged," the Bulgarian resident said, not hiding her discontent.

The citizens' concerns are entirely justified. Iran has directly warned Bulgaria that the country should not become a staging ground for operations against Tehran. However, Sofia and Washington insist that the deployment of American military aircraft in Bulgaria is defensive in nature and not connected to military operations in the Middle East.