Shortly after the first bombs fell on Iran—igniting a conflict that within hours took on regional dimensions—the authorities in Kosovo quickly sided with the United States, condemned the Iranian regime, and reaffirmed their support for the Western alliance.President Vjosa Osmani said that, thanks to the leadership of the United States and President Donald Trump, the time of freedom for the Iranian people is approaching.In a reaction on X, she added that Kosovo will continue to support the actions taken by the United States and other allies to end the Iranian regime, while strongly condemning its attacks against allies in the Middle East.The United States and Israel launched joint strikes against Iran on February 28 with the aim of curbing the country’s nuclear program. In response, Iran and its supporters have been targeting objectives in countries allied with the United States—from Saudi Arabia to Cyprus—despite warnings from Trump against retaliation.“They better not do that, because if they do, we will hit them with a force never seen before,” Trump wrote on the social media platform Truth Social.Just hours after the strikes began, Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti convened the Security Council to discuss the situation and said Kosovo is closely monitoring the possible implications for the country and the region.His government did not respond to **Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty> regarding possible implications or concrete measures that may be taken. Likewise, neither the Presidency, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Kosovo Police, nor the United States Department of State provided any comment.Kosovo hosts Camp Bondsteel, the largest U.S. military base in the Balkans, and about 600 American soldiers serving within the NATO peacekeeping mission, KFOR.In a response to Radio Free Europe, a NATO official said KFOR continues to fulfill its mandate to ensure a calm and safe environment for all citizens of Kosovo.“The strength and posture of KFOR are reviewed and adjusted from time to time according to developments on the ground so that the mission remains effective. Currently, no significant changes are being considered,” the NATO official said.Iran and its supporters have attacked several bases and missions of the United States and its allies in the Middle East. A British base in Cyprus was also targeted by drone strikes. Cypriot authorities said that, according to initial assessments, the drones were launched by Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militant group, from the territory of Lebanon.The incident triggered an immediate European reaction: several countries sent fighter jets and frigates to Cyprus to strengthen the island’s air and maritime defense amid fears of further escalation of the conflict.
When it comes to Kosovo, former senior NATO official Jamie Shea argues that although Camp Bondsteel is a major American installation, it is unlikely to rank among Tehran’s priority targets. This is because Bondsteel is not an air base and is not used to support current U.S. operations against Iran.“As far as I understand, Iran has a limited number of ballistic missiles. Since the United States and Israel are striking their launch platforms, Iran has to use them wisely to achieve maximum effect,” Shea told the Expose program of Radio Free Europe.According to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Iran possesses the largest reserve of ballistic missiles in the Middle East. Its arsenal includes long-range missiles capable of reaching Israel, Kh-55 cruise missiles with a range of up to 3,000 km, and Shahed drones, which are believed to have struck the British base in Cyprus and can reach distances of up to 2,500 km.This means that if launched from Iran, the Balkans remain outside the range of this arsenal.Former commander of the U.S. Army in Europe Ben Hodges warns that within the potential threat range could be the U.S. Navy base on the Greek island of Crete. He considers it an important target in Europe, partly because of its logistical role in the region.
Hodges does not mention specific missile or drone threats against Bondsteel but stresses that the base should always be treated as a potential risk.“I would always assume there is a threat, especially if there are terrorist organizations or individuals who may feel anger over the attacks on Iran or the killing of the Ayatollah and decide to act on their own. Therefore, even at Camp Bondsteel, security measures must be maintained and this possibility must always be taken into account,” Hodges said.Shea emphasizes that for Europe—including Kosovo—the most likely threats from Iranian actions or Iran-inspired actors are terrorist attacks, cyberattacks, and attacks by individuals known as “lone wolves”—people inspired by ideologies or groups but acting independently.“Many Kosovars joined the Islamic State during the time of the caliphate; some may have returned to the country, and some may remain radicalized. This means there may be some ‘pockets’ of radicalization. And I am not talking only about Kosovo, because a similar situation could occur in other European countries within Muslim communities,” Shea assesses.He warns that the conflict could also bring rising oil and gas prices, higher inflation, and a major global recession.
The consequences would be particularly severe for Kosovo and the Western Balkans as a whole a region he describes as economically fragile and dependent on foreign investment.In addition, General Hodges shares another concern the safety of European citizens, including Kosovars, stranded in Gulf and Middle Eastern countries.“If there are hundreds of thousands of Europeans stuck in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, or similar countries because airlines have stopped operating, then I can understand why the French government might feel the need to send its forces to protect them,”
Hodges said.The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, announced this week that his country will send the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle to the Mediterranean and will work to form a coalition to protect maritime traffic threatened by the escalation of the crisis in the Middle East.Regarding security measures for Kosovo, Shea suggests that authorities strengthen border controls, monitor potentially radicalized individuals, increase security around U.S. and KFOR facilities, and reinforce operational and intelligence cooperation with NATO and the United States.“Of course, there is also a NATO reserve force that could be deployed if the situation requires it. But currently these are standard preventive measures. Security should adapt according to threat assessments. You should neither underreact nor overreact,” Shea says.As each day of the war passes, the risks become increasingly unpredictable. Hodges says Washington has never clearly defined what it wants Iran to look like once the war ends—something that, according to him, makes the conflict harder to conclude.He also warns about pressure on U.S. military stockpiles and overall deterrence capacity.“The longer the conflict lasts, the more the U.S. ability to provide sufficient ammunition is tested. This is not only about current operations but also about maintaining deterrence capabilities against China. I’m sure there is enormous pressure on industry to increase production. But these are not simple products—they are highly sophisticated and expensive weapons that take time to produce. You cannot immediately triple or quadruple the production of Patriot interceptors, HIMARS systems, or Tomahawk missiles,” Hodges said.President Trump said on March 4 that U.S. forces are in a very strong position in Iran.
According to him, they have made major progress “even though the war has been underway for less than a week.” And perhaps the most important factor behind this, he said, is “the rebuilding of the military during my first term.”In the Balkans, the Ministry of Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina raised security measures to a higher level due to the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East, while the president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, compared the U.S. attack on Iran with the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia (1999).In the words of Jamie Shea, this is simply a “completely false analogy” and repeated rhetoric from Serbia, which also has the support of Iran in opposing Kosovo’s independence.Iran, with a population of more than 91 million people, does not recognize Kosovo as a state and has no official diplomatic relations with the country. /RFE/RL/
