Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera
· collected 2026-08-26 · by Denislav Stoychev
The news landed on Saturday, bringing relief to nearby villagers: two United States Air Force (USAF) refuelling aircraft had left Bulgaria’s Bezmer airbase.
asserted
aircraft → land → airbase
“The USAF air tankers took off yesterday and left Bulgaria,” the country’s defence minister, Dimitar Stoyanov, announced, as President Iliana Yotova declared: “For now, this mission is over.”
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mission → take → Bulgaria
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Iran → defend → southeast
The US Air Force said the Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers, intended to aid Washington’s war on Iran, had left to support “other operational requirements”.
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Stratotankers → say → requirements
The village had spent weeks worrying that the aircraft could make their area in southeastern Bulgaria a target for Iranian attacks.
uncertain
area → spend → attacks
Tehran had urged Bulgaria against allowing its territory to be used for the US and Israel’s military operation against Iran.
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territory → urge → Iran
Later, citing unnamed Iranian sources, the Financial Times reported that in the event of Washington’s escalation in Iran, Iranian forces had “assessed striking US assets in southeastern European countries such as Bulgaria” after Sofia had approved the use of its Bezmer airbase for US refuelling aircraft.
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Sofia → cite → aircraft
“I pray to God that our village won’t be attacked,” a woman working at a local grocery shop, who requested anonymity, told Al Jazeera days before the tankers left.
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tankers → pray → Jazeera
“We are scared, but nothing depends on us.”
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nothing → depend → us
Although the planes are gone, geopolitical tensions – as well as fears in Bezmer of being drawn into the US-Israel war on Iran once again – persist.
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tensions → go → Iran
This week, Stoyanov told reporters that Iran had carried out an effective hybrid operation, aided by Bulgarian politicians in the opposition.
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Iran → tell → opposition
“Unfortunately, this hybrid operation will continue,” he predicted in comments understood to have been directed at the opposition.
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he → continue → opposition
Stoyanov did not elaborate further.
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Stoyanov → elaborate → ?
In Bezmer, a village of about 1,000 people that sits beside the base, Bulgarian military aircraft have long been part of the landscape.
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aircraft → sit → landscape
Many residents work at the base, according to Rosen Rusev, the mayor, and the sound of aircraft overhead is routine.
uncertain
sound → work → aircraft
But in late July, the Bulgarian government proposed – and Parliament approved – the deployment of as many as eight US Air Force Stratotankers and up to 250 personnel.
Within two days, residents of Bezmer and nearby villages had collected more than 3,000 signatures against the deployment and held peaceful protests.
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residents → propose → protests
They did not want their village to become part of the war on Iran.
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village → want → Iran
Rusev said a buzzy atmosphere took hold of Bezmer on Friday, when residents realised the tankers had left.
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tankers → say → Friday
“Now they feel their voice is finally heard,” he told Al Jazeera.
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he → feel → Jazeera
“It happened just as they wanted.”
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they → happen → ?
The government had moved to reassure residents.
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government → move → residents
Stoyanov said military intelligence had identified no threat to national security, the US aircraft or other facilities in Bulgaria.
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intelligence → say → Bulgaria
A United Kingdom assessment requested by the government had reportedly judged the risk as extremely low.
uncertain
assessment → request → risk
But reassurances did little to calm everyone.
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reassurances → do → everyone
With temperatures soaring to about 30 degrees Celsius (86F), two friends, Dinka Todorova, 67, and Ganka Vlaeva, 78, sat in plastic chairs in the shade.
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friends → soar → shade
Both have children who work at the airbase.
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who → have → airbase
“We shiver day after day and pray that the war doesn’t come here,” Vlaeva said.
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Vlaeva → shiver → day
“We are the first target, and many people will die.”
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people → die → ?
“And children, too,” Todorova added quietly.
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Todorova → add → ?
Vlaeva said she was disappointed with the government and lawmakers, accusing them of ignoring the villagers’ petition.
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she → say → petition
“They don’t want to hear the voice of the people who elected them,” she said.
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she → want → them
Not everyone in Bezmer shared that concern.
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everyone → share → concern
Ivan, a 33-year-old who sat beside the village church with his electric bicycle nearby, said that “groundless panic” was spread “recklessly”.
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panic → sit → church
“There’s no danger for the village,” he concluded.
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he → ’ → village
He is more worried about the possibility of interceptor missiles, or “something coming from Russia across the Black Sea”.
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He → come → Sea
As residents protested, Antoniya Ivanova, whose father is a serviceman at the base, hung a white sheet over an aerial photograph of Bezmer.
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father → protest → Bezmer
Animated films were projected onto it for children “to wind down the accumulated stress”, she explained.
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she → project → stress
“We’re the most innocent in this whole situation,” she said.
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she → ’re → situation
“We didn’t want those aeroplanes near our homes.”
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We → want → homes
Children filled the playground as the afternoon cooled.
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afternoon → fill → playground
…and 21 more, not listed.
