Bulgaria, the United Kingdom and Ukraine 'Will Not Become Part of the War' Against Iran

Within the space of 24 hours, Tehran received consecutive phone calls from Bulgaria, the United Kingdom and Ukraine, each stating that they "would not become part of the war" against Iran. This was reported by Iranian state television, citing an interview given last night by the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghaei.

Bulgaria's Ministry of Foreign Affairs told BNT that the conversation with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was initiated by the Bulgarian side, with the proposal for the call made on 6 July. Due to scheduling conflicts between the two ministers, the conversation took place on 30 July. No other call has been held.

Following last week’s phone call, our Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that, regarding the authorization for the deployment of U.S. tanker aircraftat the Bezmer airport, Minister Velislava Petrova had emphasized that it is out of the question for any direct military actions related to the conflict in the Middle East to be carried out from Bulgarian territory.

Baghaei also denied US President Donald Trump's announcement that dialogue between Washington and Tehran would resume today. The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that "there are no plans to receive an American delegation or to send an Iranian delegation in the coming days."

Esmaeil Baghaei, spokesperson for Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs:“We are not currently negotiating with the United States. The current negotiations are taking place between Iran and Oman and are aimed at reaching an understanding on a safe shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz.”