Laura Gozzi
(BBC) – Spain has 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”.
The US did not immediately comment but 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.”
