Bulgarian Prime Minister will convene the country’s Security Council at 1300 local time on Saturday to discuss the escalating situation in the Middle East following large-scale U.S. and Israeli military action against.
The government press office said only permanent members of the council had been invited, noting that representatives of political parties would not attend.
“In the current situation, the Council of Ministers does not want the Security Council to be turned into an arena for pre-election statements,” the government said.
In a separate statement, Bulgaria’s Foreign Ministry said the main priority was the safety of Bulgarian citizens.
“Today the United States and Israel began full-scale military action against the regime in Iran,” the ministry said. It reiterated Bulgaria’s longstanding concerns over Iran’s nuclear and missile programmes, including the potential range of Tehran’s missiles reaching Europe, as well as what it described as Iran’s destabilising role in the region.
The ministry said a crisis task force had been set up and that Sofia was coordinating with partners to assess risks to European citizens, with priority given to Bulgarian nationals. Bulgarians in the region were urged to maintain contact with diplomatic and consular missions and to register via the Foreign Ministry’s online travel platform.
Caretaker Defence Minister said there was no direct military threat to Bulgaria following the strike on Iran.
“Bulgaria is not part of and is not involved in conducting such an operation in Iran. We will not raise the combat readiness of the armed forces,” Zapryanov said, adding that the Security Council would discuss possible evacuation measures for Bulgarian citizens.
He noted that U.S. forces are stationed in Bulgaria at joint-use facilities, including the Novo Selo training area, and that Alliance battle group elements and U.S. C-130 aircraft are present in the country for training purposes.
“For now, I can say there is no direct military danger to the territory of our country,” Zapryanov said.