Iran warned Bulgaria not to allow the United States to use its airports for military operations linked to Iran, the foreign ministry said on Wednesday.
Deputy Foreign Minister Marin Raikov confirmed Sofia received a note from Tehran last month protesting US military aircraft at a Bulgarian airport.
He said Bulgaria is not involved in the conflict and no combat aircraft are being loaded in the country for operations in the region.
Fresh public criticism of remarks by President Masoud Pezeshkian and the defensive response from his inner circle appear to add to signs of a widening rift between the government and the Revolutionary Guards over the conduct of the war and its economic fallout.
In a post on X, Hamidreza Tabatabaei, deputy for communications and information at the president’s office, pushed back at attacks on Pezeshkian and pointedly asked: “How can second-tier figures pontificate on behalf of the political system, but Dr. Pezeshkian has no right to express an opinion?”
His wording appeared to suggest that even the president is being denied room to speak.
Yousef Pezeshkian, the president’s son and adviser, also responded to criticism of the president’s recent remarks.
“I do not understand the meaning of these criticisms; are we not seeking to meet conditions and obtain guarantees? Or are we seeking war until the complete destruction of America and Israel?” he said.
The backlash from hardline pro-government accounts was sharp.
Morteza Rohani wrote that the president’s media team had burned “two main levers against America,” adding: “Oil got cheaper, and the US market turned green. This scale of sabotage is not the result of ignorance alone. Security institutions should be sensitive.”
While limited in themselves, the exchanges support earlier reporting that tensions have deepened between Pezeshkian’s administration and the Guards over war policy, diplomacy and the economy.
Yahya Al-e Es’hagh, head of the Iran-Iraq Joint Chamber of Commerce, said Iran could theoretically generate $70 billion to $80 billion a year from the Strait of Hormuz by charging for services provided there.
Speaking to ILNA, he said Iran could “at least” collect a 10% fee under maritime law for services in the strait, which he said covers 20% to 30% of global trade.
The figures were presented as a potential estimate rather than an announced policy.
At least two vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz paid Iran for safe passage, Lloyd’s List Intelligence reported in March, adding that commercial traffic is increasingly diverting into Iranian territorial waters through what has been dubbed the “Tehran Toll Booth.”
