Spain Refuses to Provide USA with Air Bases for Strikes on Iran

Spain has refused to allow the USA to use its military bases for strikes on Iran.

This was announced by Spain’s Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares, according to Reuters.

“Spanish bases are not being used for this operation and will not be used for actions that are not provided for in the agreement with the United States or do not comply with the United Nations Charter,” Albares said to Telecinco.

At the same time, according to FlightRadar24, a website that tracks flights, 15 US aircraft have taken off from the Rota and Moron military bases in southern Spain since the US-Israeli attacks on Iran began over the weekend.

At least seven of them, according to FlightRadar24 data, landed at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.

The UK initially also refused to allow its bases to be used for strikes on Iran, but on Sunday, Prime Minister Keir Starmer authorized their use for “collective self-defense.”

Spain’s position and its strong condemnation of the actions of the US and Israel in Iran once again set the country apart from its partners in the region and could further strain relations with Washington.

Spain was used by the US as a transit hub for American aircraft, which the Donald Trump administration had been accumulating in the region ahead of the strikes on Iran.

Defense Minister Margarita Robles said that Spain mainly hosted KC-135 Stratotanker refueling aircraft.

Prior to the operation against Iran, dozens of American F-35A and F-16 fighter jets, as well as KC-135 and KC-46 tankers, were deployed to the Middle East via the Spanish air bases in Morón and Rota.

The United Kingdom, France, and Germany have announced the possibility of strikes against Iran, despite Spain’s position.

European leaders are outraged by Iran’s indiscriminate and disproportionate missile attacks against countries in the region, particularly those that did not participate in the US and Israeli military operations.