Romania's Supreme Council of National Defense has approved a U.S. request to temporarily station American military aircraft, equipment, and personnel on Romanian territory in order to support Operation Epic Fury against Iran in the Middle East. This was announced by Romanian President Nicușor Dan.
According to Bloomberg, Romania's parliament also voted in favor of hosting U.S. forces and equipment at Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base to support the operation related to Iran.
Read more: From Billion-Dollar Jets to Instant Tragedy: Friendly Fire Lessons Ukraine Must Learn
The Romanian president emphasized that the equipment the United States plans to deploy in Romania will have an "exclusively defensive role." In particular, the deployment involves aerial refueling aircraft. According to the report, the package could include several aircraft and up to 500 U.S. military personnel.
"I stress that the equipment the United States will send to Romania is defensive in nature and is not equipped with actual weapons," the Romanian president stated.
This suggests that European countries are concerned that Iran could carry out indiscriminate long-range strikes if a country assists the United States in its operation aimed at the "destruction of the regime" in Iran.
Earlier analysis indicated which European states could potentially face risks if Iran decides to respond in such a manner. In such a scenario, nearly half of Romania's territory could fall within range of Iranian ballistic missiles, while the entire country could be threatened by cruise missile strikes.
Against this backdrop, it is unsurprising that Romanian officials are emphasizing that no offensive weapons related to Operation Epic Fury will be deployed in the country.
For example, earlier this month Spain refused to allow U.S. forces to use joint military bases on its territory for strikes against Iran. Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares stated that the bases would not be used "for anything beyond the agreement with the United States or that does not comply with the United Nations Charter."
Previously, Defense Express also reported that Romanian officials have criticized the poor state of the country's defense industry and plan to address the issue, noting that some factories have fallen into disrepair and become overgrown instead of producing weapons.
Read more: How Far Can Iranian Ballistic Missiles, Cruise Missiles, Drones Reach, What Parts of Europe Could Be Targeted?
