Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev said Monday that his country, a NATO and European Union member, will seek parliamentary approval for the deployment of up to eight US refueling aircraft at a military airfield. The move comes after a plan to place the aircraft at a civilian airport sparked widespread controversy.

Radev said at an annual conference of Bulgarian ambassadors in Sofia that the government will ask parliament to approve a request from Washington to deploy the refueling aircraft at the Bezmer military facility to support US military operations in the Middle East, according to Reuters news agency.

An earlier move this year to deploy the aircraft, primarily used for aerial refueling of other aircraft, at a civilian airport in the capital Sofia without prior parliamentary approval sparked controversy. The aircraft left last month.

Radev said, 'The problem was that the military aircraft were stationed at a civilian airport near Sofia. That is why we proposed to our allies to use military airports.'

The Bezmer military base is located about 260 kilometers southeast of Sofia.

The United States and Iran have exchanged intense attacks since the collapse of the temporary ceasefire agreement signed a month ago, increasing the likelihood of a return to all-out war.

An Israeli military official said Sunday that Israel is preparing to receive more US refueling aircraft.