TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Spain has stated that the United States (US) is not using – and will not use – joint military bases on its territory for operations against Iran, a mission condemned by Madrid.
“Based on all the information I have, the bases are not being used for this military operation,” Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told Spanish public television on Monday, as quoted by Al Jazeera.
“The Spanish bases are not being used for this operation, and will not be used for anything that is not covered by the agreement with the United States or for anything that is not in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations,” Albares said, speaking to Spanish television station Telecinco.
Defense Minister Margarita Robles said the aircraft – primarily aerial refueling tankers including the Boeing KC-135 “Stratotanker” – have been permanently stationed in Spain.
According to a map from flight tracking website FlightRadar24 on Monday, as reported by NDTV, 15 US aircraft have left the bases in southern Spain since the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran. At least seven aircraft seen on FlightRadar24 have landed at Ramstein air base in Germany.
The FlightRadar24 tracking site shows nine tanker planes departing on Sunday from Moron air base in southern Spain and heading for Germany.
Two flights departed from Rota, a naval base with an airfield, bound for southern France, according to FlightRadar24. Four other flights departed from Rota, but their routes were not displayed.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez condemned the US and Israeli attacks on Iran that began Saturday as an "unprovoked" and "dangerous" military intervention outside the realm of international law, another departure from US policy.
"The Spanish government will not authorise the use of the bases for anything beyond the agreement or inconsistent with the United Nations," Albares said, referring to the Rota naval base and Moron air base.
The US operates at these bases under a joint use arrangement, but they remain under Spanish sovereignty.
Defense Minister Margarita Robles said the bases “will not provide support, except if, in a given case, it were necessary from a humanitarian perspective.”
Spain also condemned Iran’s retaliatory attacks on the Gulf states.
Spain’s stance is an exception among major European powers.
The UK also initially refused to authorize the use of its bases for attacks against Iran. But on Sunday, Prime Minister Keir Starmer authorized their use for “collective self-defense,” amid Iranian retaliatory attacks targeting US assets across the Middle East and energy infrastructure in the Gulf region.
Meanwhile, France and Germany are prepared to do the same.
The leaders of the three countries are “appalled by the indiscriminate and disproportionate missile attacks launched by Iran against countries in the region, including those who were not involved in initial US and Israeli military operations,” a joint statement said on Sunday.
“We have agreed to work together with the US and allies in the region on this matter,” they said.
Read: Iran War: Tens of Thousands of German Travelers Stranded
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