Spain has closed its airspace to U.S. aircraft participating in the joint operation with Israel against Iran’s regime, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced last week, prompting strong-worded condemnations by supporters of the U.S. and Israel.
“We have denied the United States the use of the Rota and Morón bases for this illegal war. All flight plans that are geared towards actions related to the operation in Iran have been rejected. All of them, including those of refueling aircraft,” Sánchez said in Congress on March 25.
No major media had picked up on these statements until Monday, El Pais reported in an article that broke the story, because they were focused on the internal tensions within Spain’s political system.
Separately, Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken on Monday wrote that Belgium would, after a ceasefire is reached with Iran, “join the coalition of the willing to guarantee the free maritime passage through the Strait of Hormuz,” adding, “We are working together with France and all other willing partners to achieve this strategic goal once conditions in the region will allow for it, such as a ceasefire.”
If the policy announced by Sánchez is implemented, it would deny the U.S. armed forces use of the U.S. bases in Seville and Rota, which are critical elements of U.S. military capabilities in the region.
The Spanish veto has an exception: in emergency situations, the transit or landing of the aircraft involved will be authorized, according to Sánchez.
The Pentagon has deployed at least 15 tanker aircraft, primarily KC-135 Stratotankers, to the Rota and Seville air bases to provide logistical support for a force deployment against Iran’s regime, El Pais reported.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the Spanish move “very disappointing,” adding that U.S. President Donald Trump “will have to reexamine all of this after this operation is over.”
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Rubio added that “one of the reasons why NATO is beneficial to the United States is it gives us basing rights for contingencies. It allows us to station troops and aircraft and weapons.” But, he added, “In a time of need, the United States has identified a grave risk to our national security and our national interests, and we needed to conduct this operation. And we have countries like Spain, a NATO member, that we are pledged to defend, denying us the use of their airspace and bragging about it.”
The Action and Communication on the Middle East group, ACOM, which is a pro-Israel, pro-American Spanish nonprofit organization, called Sánchez’s decision “irresponsible” and an unprecedented “act of active sabotage against a collective security operation backed by our closest allies.”
The operation’s objectives, ACOM recalled, are to “prevent Iran from developing and deploying nuclear weapons; to neutralize its long-range missile program which, combined with such weaponry, represents an existential threat to all its neighbors and also to Europe; to dismantle the regime’s ability to massacre its own people; and to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.” This, ACOM wrote in a statement, “is exactly what Sánchez is sabotaging.”
