Massive US Air Force warplane movements in Bulgaria raise stakes for Iran talks
By Linus Höller
Feb 23, 2026, 05:54 AM
BERLIN — Bulgaria’s Sofia International Airport briefly suspended civilian air operations twice over the weekend while a fleet of American military aircraft staged at the facility, fueling speculation that Washington is positioning forces ahead of a potential strike on Iran.
A Notice to Airmen (NOTAM), verified by the Bulgarian investigative outlet Obektivno.BG, showed the airport restricted non-military operations on Feb. 23 from 01:15 to 02:50 local time and again on Feb. 24 from 01:05 to 03:35. Commercial flights are not ordinarily scheduled during this time frame.
Airport authorities attributed the brief closures to routine runway repairs and explicitly denied any link to the American military presence.
Photographs circulating on social media showed at least six KC-135 Stratotanker refueling aircraft from the 6th Air Refueling Wing at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, along with C-17 and C-130 cargo planes and Boeing 747s typically used for troop transport, parked at the airport’s Terminal 1, according to Obektivno.BG.
https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2026/02/23/massive-us-air-force-warplane-movements-in-bulgaria-raise-stakes-for-iran-talks/
