Spain closes airspace for US planes involved in Iran war

Spain has closed airspace to United States warplanes linked to the Iran conflict, reinforcing opposition under Pedro Sánchez. Madrid earlier barred US base use, deepening tensions with Washington amid criticism of Middle East military actions

Madrid: Spain has closed its airspace to US planes involved in the Iran war, the defence minister said Monday, marking another step in the government’s opposition to US and Israeli involvement in the conflict in the Middle East.

The country had already said the US couldn’t use jointly operated military bases in the Iran conflict, which Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has described as illegal, reckless and unjust.

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Defence Minister Margarita Robles on Monday said the same logic applied to the use of Spanish airspace in the conflict.

“This was made perfectly clear to the American military and forces from the very beginning. Therefore, neither the bases are authorised, nor, of course, is the use of Spanish airspace authorised for any actions related to the war in Iran,” Robles told reporters.

Spain’s government under Sanchez, one of Europe’s most prominent left-wing leaders, has been Europe’s loudest opposing voice against US and Israeli military actions in the Middle East.

He has called on the US, Israel and Iran to end the war, saying earlier this month: “You cannot respond to one illegality with another, because that’s how humanity’s great disasters begin.”

After Sanchez’s government denied the US use of the Rota and Moron military bases in southern Spain, US President Donald Trump threatened to cut trade with Madrid.

It was the latest flare-up between Spain and the US, which made trade threats against the European nation last year, too, when Sanchez said that his government wouldn’t increase its defence spending in accordance with a ramp-up agreed to by other NATO members following pressure from Trump.

At the time, Sanchez’s government said Spain could meet its military commitments by spending 2.1 per cent of gross domestic product on defence, instead of the 5 per cent the rest of the 32-nation military alliance agreed upon.

Sanchez was also among the most vocal critics of Israel’s actions in the war in Gaza, which invited criticism from Israel’s government on several occasions.

“I think everyone knows Spain’s position; it’s very clear,” Robles said, calling the war in Iran “profoundly illegal and profoundly unjust.”