"NATO will defend Bulgaria against any action by Iran," official warns
Video. Iran has threatened Bulgaria after the government sit aid plans to host US military aircraft. Tehran warned Sofia must not allow its territory to become a launchpad for operations against Tehran. Colonel Martin O'Donnell tells Euronews NATO is ready to defend Bulgaria should it come under attack.
Updated: 23/07/2026 - 11:40 GMT+2
Iran has threatened Bulgaria after the government sit aid plans to host US military aircraft. Tehran warned Sofia must not allow its territory to become a launchpad for operations against Tehran. Colonel Martin O'Donnell tells Euronews NATO is ready to defend Bulgaria should it come under attack.
NATO says it is poised to defend Bulgaria against any threat from Iran after Sofia agreed to host US tanker aircraft as part of Washington's operations against Iran.
A spokesman for Iran's foreign ministry warned Bulgaria on Tuesday against hosting up to eight US military aircraft at an air base on its territory. Bulgaria is both an EU and NATO member.
Iranian Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told state media that any action that supports US attacks on Iran would be regarded as participating in hostilities and amount to "aggression and war crimes".
Meanwhile, NATO's Colonel Martin O'Donnell told Europe Today that the alliance has already defended Turkish territory from ballistic missile attacks in the early days of the Iran war.
"We saw when Iran fired missiles towards Turkey – a NATO ally – that NATO defended in all of those instances, and we will continue to defend against any threat posed by Iran or anyone else to this defensive alliance," O'Donnell said.
