TEHRAN, Aug. 3 -- Within a 24-hour window on Saturday and Sunday, the governments of the United Kingdom, Bulgaria, and Ukraine each made contact with the Iranian Foreign Ministry to say the same thing: they would not participate in any military action against Iran. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei announced all three calls publicly on Sunday, naming each government by country - a statement calibrated as much for its diplomatic effect as for its factual content.

"Over the past 24 hours, we have repeatedly received calls from the UK, Bulgaria and Ukraine saying that they would not become part of the war against Iran," Baghaei was quoted as saying by the Iranian state broadcaster IRIB.

The three countries are not a natura...