Spain has barred US aircraft involved in attacks on Iran from using its airspace and the jointly operated military bases at Rota and Morón, Defence Minister Margarita Robles said, as Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s government seeks to avoid any role in an escalating conflict it has repeatedly condemned.
Robles said Madrid had informed Washington from the outset that it would not authorise the bases for any act linked to the war, while Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said Spain’s objective was to avoid encouraging further escalation.
Sánchez, one of the strongest European critics of the US and Israeli strikes since the war began in late February, said last week that all flight plans tied to the Iran operation, including refuelling missions, had been rejected.
A White House official told the BBC that US forces did not need Spanish support under Operation Epic Fury.
El País reported that Spanish airspace and the two Andalusian bases would remain available only in emergencies.
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