As many as fifteen United States aircraft have left Spain after Madrid said it would not allow its military bases to be used for attacks on Iran, Reuters has reported.
As per the news agency reports, the 15 aircraft left the Rota and Moron military bases on Monday, according to maps by flight tracking website FlightRadar24.
The move comes shortly after the Spain Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said that his country will not allow its military bases to be used against attacks on Iran.
"Spanish bases are not being used for this operation," Albares said, while speaking to the Spanish broadcaster Telecinco, "And they will not be used for anything not included in the agreement with the United States."
He said the bases won't be used for anything that is not in accordance with the charter of the United Nations.
Also Read: Iran Claims US-Israel Strikes Hit Natanz Nuclear Facility, Escalating Atomic Tensions
The bases are operated jointly by Spain and the United States; however, under Spanish sovereignty, the country has not allowed their use in the present conflict between Tehran and Washington. Spain has condemned the attacks on Iran. This emphatic move by the socialist Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, makes Spain again an outlier in the region and is set to further strain its relationship with Washington.
Reuters reported that at least seven aircraft were shown on FlightRadar24 as having landed at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany. The website also showed nine tankers departed on Sunday from the Moron air base in Southern Spain and headed towards Germany.
"Two flights departed from Rota, a naval base with an airfield, towards southern France. A further four flights departed from Rota, but their route was not shown by the website," Reuters has reported.
Defence Minister Margarita Robles said the aircraft — primarily aerial refuelling tankers including the Boeing KC-135 "Stratotanker" — had been permanently stationed in Spain.
Britain had also refused to allow the use of its bases for an attack on Iran, but Prime Minister Keir Stramer authorised their use on Sunday, citing "collective self-defence". "The United States has requested permission to use British bases for that specific and limited defensive purpose. We have decided to accept this request to prevent Iran from firing missiles across the region," he said in a video message on X.
Essential Business Intelligence, Continuous LIVE TV, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.
