TEHRAN, July 21 (Xinhua/GNA) – Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmaeil Baghaei, on Tuesday warned Bulgaria against letting the United States use its territory and facilities for military operations against Iran.
He issued the warning in an interview with the official news agency IRNA, while reacting to remarks by Bulgarian Prime Minister, Rumen Radev, who said on Monday that his government had received a note from the United States, asking for permission to deploy up to eight tanker aircraft at Bezmer Air Base, to support U.S. operations in the Middle East, and that Bulgaria’s Council of Ministers would later submit a proposal to the parliament, seeking approval in that regard.
Baghaei called on the Bulgarian parliament to refrain from granting permission for the U.S. deployment, and turning the country into an “accomplice of aggressors and criminals.”
He said under UN General Assembly Resolution 3314, “making the territory of one state available for use by another state in order to commit an act of aggression against a third state, is considered an act of aggression.”
Iran does not hesitate to defend its national interests and security against any “malice and act of aggression,” Baghaei stressed, underlining that any side participating in any way in the military aggression against Iran must accept responsibility for its action’s consequences.
On Feb. 28, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and other Iranian cities, killing Iran’s then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, senior military commanders and civilians. Iran responded with waves of missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and U.S. bases and assets in the region.
On June 18, Iran and the United States signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on ending the war in the region on all fronts. Under the MoU, they were scheduled to hold negotiations within a period of 60 days to reach a final agreement, but the fate of the talks is hanging in the balance, following the escalation between the two countries over the past few days.
GNA