Spain closed its airspace to US planes involved in attacks on Iran, Madrid’s Defence Minister Margarita Robles has said. “We will not authorise the use of Morón and Rota [military bases] for any acts related to the war in Iran,” she said, adding that Spain had “made this clear to the American government from the beginning”.
Foreign Affairs Minister José Manuel Albares stated that the aim of the decision was to “not do anything that could encourage an escalation in this war”.
A White House official told the BBC that the US military was “meeting or surpassing all of its goals under Operation Epic Fury and does not need help from Spain or anyone else”.
US President Donald Trump has previously threatened to impose a full trade embargo on Spain over its opposition to the Iran war.
Since the start of the war in late February, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has been one of the most vocal opponents of the US and Israeli attacks on Iran, describing them as “reckless” and “illegal”.
Earlier in March, Sánchez said Spain had denied the US use of the two jointly run military bases at Rota and Morón, both in Andalusia.
Last Wednesday, he also announced that “all flight plans that involved actions related to the operation in Iran were rejected – every single one of them, including those of refuelling aircraft.”
“We are a sovereign country that does not wish to take part in illegal wars,” he said. Some US bombers involved in operations in Iran are stationed at the RAF Fairford base in Gloucestershire in the UK, after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced on 1 March that the UK had agreed to the request from the US.
Planes taking off from there will be forced to bypass much of the Iberian peninsula – either by flying over the eastern Atlantic or France.
Spanish newspaper El País reported that aircraft would only be able to transit through Spain’s airspace or land at the bases in case of emergency.
In a 10-minute televised address on 4 March, the Spanish prime minister reflected on the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, as well as the Iraq War more than 20 years ago, and said the Spanish government’s position could be summed up as “no to war”.
Later in March, the Iranian embassy in Spain said Tehran would be receptive to requests from Madrid concerning transit through the Strait of Hormuz because Spain was “committed to international law”.
Around 20% of the world’s oil supply normally passes through the narrow waterway between Iran and the tip of the Arabian peninsula.
For weeks the threat of attacks by Iranian drones, missiles and potentially mines has kept it effectively closed, sending oil prices shooting.
By BBC News
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