The White House responded to Spain, stating that the US does not need its help or the help of any other country for the military operation in Iran, after the Spanish government ordered the closure of its airspace to US planes participating in the war, the Spanish news agency EFE reported, quoted by BTA.
An official from the administration of US President Donald Trump told EFE that the US armed forces are fulfilling or exceeding all their objectives within the framework of Operation “Epic Fury“ and do not need help from Spain or any other country.
The government of Pedro Sánchez, which has banned the use of the Rota and Morón military bases since the beginning of the war, has also ordered the closure of its airspace to American flights participating in the military operation, as reported yesterday by the Spanish newspaper “Pais“, citing sources in the Ministry of Defense.
This ban applies only to military air operations and does not affect civilian flights.
Later, the Spanish Defense Minister, Margarita Robles Fernández, stated that the government had very clearly informed the United States from the very beginning of the military operation that Spain would not authorize the use of either the bases or Spanish airspace for operations related to the war.
Upon arriving at the Ministry of Industry, Robles told the media that Spain would not authorize the use of the Rota and Morón bases “to participate in a war in which we completely oppose, which we do not believe in and consider deeply illegal and unjust“.
Spain's refusal to allow the use of these bases, which are used jointly with the United States under a bilateral agreement, has increased tensions between the two governments and led Trump to repeatedly criticize the Spanish authorities.
He even called Spain a “terrible partner“ and threatened to cut off all trade with it, as well as impose an embargo, despite the fact that Spanish trade policy is integrated and regulated within the European Union.