Greece's defense ministry announced Friday that a Patriot anti-missile system and F-16 fighter jets will be deployed to help its northern neighbor, Bulgaria, counter potential Iranian attacks, according to Euractiv.com.
Following the request made by the authorities in Sofia, Minister Nikos Dendias conveyed to his Bulgarian counterpart, Atanas Zapryanov, that Greece would provide “resources and personnel for the protection of Bulgaria”.
Thus, the decision was made to relocate a Patriot battery to a suitable area in northern Greece on Friday, providing anti-ballistic cover for a large part of Bulgarian territory.
“Additionally, a pair of F-16 aircraft will be stationed at an air base in northern Greece – with the sole mission of providing additional protection to Bulgaria,” the Ministry of Defense in Sofia stated.
The presence of American fighter jets in Bulgaria, as part of NATO exercises, has raised concerns in the context of the war in the Middle East.
Greece has already deployed Patriot systems and F-16 jets to Cyprus.
On Wednesday, NATO air and missile defense systems stationed in the eastern Mediterranean destroyed a ballistic missile launched from Iran that was heading toward Turkish airspace after passing over Syria and Iraq. A Turkish official later told AFP that Ankara believed the target was actually a military base in Cyprus.
In a statement on Thursday, Iran's military denied that it had fired any missiles into Turkish territory, insisting that Tehran respects Turkey's sovereignty.
