The U.S. pulled its warplanes from Spanish bases after Madrid prohibited their use against Iran, Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles said today.
Missions involving the bases must “operate within the framework of international law,” the minister said during a press conference at the Armilla Air Base, adding that military installations on Spanish territory would be prohibited from “providing support except if it is necessary from a humanitarian perspective.”
Flight tracking website FlightRadar24 recorded over a dozen U.S. aircraft — among them, several Boeing KC-135 aerial refueling tankers — leaving the Morón de la Frontera and Rota airbases this weekend, with seven deploying to Ramstein Air Base in Germany. Robles said the U.S. had “likely made those moves because they knew the aircraft could not operate” from Spain.
A 1953 agreement with the U.S. gives Madrid a say over how American forces stationed on its territory are used. Robles said that the bases had not participated in last Saturday’s attack on Iran and would not be used for “maintenance and support operations.”
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is the main EU leader condemning Washington’s attack on Iran, which he described as a “violation of international law.”
Robles said that Madrid’s policy on the use of Spanish bases did not reflect any support for the Islamist regime in Tehran, which she characterized as “terrible and dictatorial.” But, she added, “the solution can never be the use of violence.”
Source:
www.politico.eu