Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles has announced that Spain's left-leaning government has closed its national airspace to U.S. aircraft conducting missions against Iran and has denied Washington the use of its military bases for such operations.
Minister Robles stated to journalists, "From the very beginning, it was made completely clear to the U.S. forces that the use of bases is not permitted, and of course, the use of Spanish airspace for any operations related to the war in Iran is not allowed." She further emphasized, "Our airspace will not be used to wage a war that we completely oppose and consider to be both illegal and profoundly unjust."
According to reports from the newspaper *El País*, Spain's refusal to cooperate has "complicated" U.S. military operations, forcing bombers to alter their logistical flight paths en route to the Middle East. Permission for aircraft to transit or land is now granted only in emergency situations.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has emerged as the most prominent Western leader to oppose the conflict, which began with U.S.-Israeli strikes on February 28th and has since expanded across the wider Middle East region. His government's latest stance has provoked anger from U.S. President Donald Trump, who has threatened to cut trade relations with Madrid. This tension follows previous disagreements over Spain's commitment to raising NATO defense spending to 5% of GDP, as advocated by the U.S.