Spain closes airspace to aircraft involved in Iran war, but US bases are being used in other ways

The Spanish government is walking a tightrope: it rejects involvement in a war it deems illegal, while still contributing to the defense of Turkey and Cyprus, in keeping with its commitments to NATO and the EU

The Spanish government is walking a tightrope: it rejects involvement in a war it deems illegal, while still contributing to the defense of Turkey and Cyprus, in keeping with its commitments to NATO and the EU Spain has closed its airspace to flights involved in Operation Epic Fury, launched by the U.S. and Israel against Iran. Not only is it prohibiting the use of the military bases in Rota (Cádiz) and Morón de la Frontera (Seville) by fighter jets or in-flight refueling aircraft participating in the attack; it is also denying airspace access to U.S. aircraft stationed in third countries, such as the United Kingdom or France, according to military sources. “We have denied the United States the use of the Rota and Morón bases for this illegal war. All flight plans involving operations in Iran have been rejected. All of them, including those for refueling aircraft,” said Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez last Wednesday in Congress. In other words, flyovers by bombers or tanker aircraft participating in this operation are not being approved. The Spanish ban has a single exception: in emergency situations, the aircraft in question will be authorized to transit or land. However, this does not mean that the Morón and Rota bases are not being used by U.S. Air Force (USAF) aircraft, as all missions falling under the bilateral agreement with Washington remain in effect, such as logistical support for U.S. troops deployed in Europe—some 80,000 personnel in total—which is proceeding as usual. Support has also been provided, from the Seville Air Traffic Control Center of the public entity ENAIRE, for the navigation of B-2 Spirit bombers that depart from their base at Whiteman, in the state of Missouri, strike Iran, and then return on a nonstop flight lasting more than 30 hours. However, these bombers do not enter Spanish airspace but instead cross the Strait of Gibraltar in transit, something Spain cannot prevent. Beyond the government’s “No to war” slogan, Spain’s stance on the conflict that began over a month ago has gradually taken on a more technical tone, to the point where it now borders on neutrality. In the weeks leading up to the attack on February 28, according to a timeline reconstructed by EL PAÍS, intense negotiations took place between Madrid and Washington regarding Spain’s role in the U.S. military deployment. The Pentagon deployed at least 15 tanker aircraft, primarily KC-135 Stratotankers, to the bases in Rota and Morón as logistical support for a military deployment whose objective, as was said at the time, was to pressure Iran into backing down in the negotiations held in Oman and Geneva and agreeing to dismantle its nuclear and missile programs without the need for military action. It was within this political-military context, as confirmed by various sources, that Washington sounded out its counterparts regarding the possibility of deploying B-52H Stratofortress and B-1B Lancer bombers to Spanish bases. According to the U.S. side, their mission would not be to directly attack Iran, but rather to serve as a reaction force in the event that the Iranians attacked NATO or allied bases. In theory, they would limit themselves to destroying Tehran’s missile silos and launchers in a second strike. Both the B-52s and the B-1s have been deployed to Morón on several occasions for exercises (most recently in March 2024 for the B-1s and in November 2025 for the B-52s), so the Seville base has the necessary facilities to accommodate them. However, only once, during the 1991 Gulf War against Iraq, did the government of Felipe González authorize its use as a platform to directly attack a third country. On that occasion, the Spanish side made it clear to the Americans that it could not collaborate with an operation that did not comply with international law or fall under the umbrella of a multilateral organization (UN, NATO, or EU), so the plan was withdrawn and the request to deploy bombers on Spanish soil was never formally submitted, according to government sources. However, Spain’s refusal to cooperate with a war that lacked legal justification from the outset had other implications: it prevented the tanker aircraft already deployed at Morón and Rota from refueling the bombers in flight, a condition essential for extending the bombers’ range. Consequently, over the weekend of February 28 and March 1, some fifteen KC-135 aircraft departed Spain for France or Germany. These tanker aircraft, which constitute a fundamental pillar of air power, have been deployed during the war in other European countries, such as Romania. One of them crashed in Iraq, killing all six crew members, and five others were damaged in an Iranian attack on a U.S. base in Saudi Arabia. After the plan to deploy the bombers in Spain fell through, Washington sought an alternative location in Europe for the B-52s and B-1s. It found one at Fairford Air Base in Gloucestershire, in southeastern England. After initial resistance, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer yielded to the demands of Donald Trump, who had criticized him for not actively joining the attacks. In addition to the Diego Garcia base in the Indian Ocean, Fairford was also granted, though only for “defensive missions”; that is, to eliminate the missile launchers with which Iran was attacking its Gulf neighbors and British bases and citizens in the region. The U.S. bombers were deployed to the British bases on March 9, ten days after the war began. The B-52s and B-1s have enough range to strike Iran and return to England without refueling, but for practical reasons, the amount of bombs they can carry is inversely proportional to the amount of fuel. The less kerosene they carry at takeoff, the more munitions they can load. For this reason, the bombers departing from Fairford are refueled in flight by KC-135s that left Spain on February 28 and were deployed to the Istres-Le-Tube base in southern France, about 60 kilometers west of Marseille. The French General Staff assured that these missions are limited to supporting Paris’s allies in the Gulf. From a military standpoint, Spain’s refusal to cooperate has complicated the operation. While the bases at Rota and Morón allow for a quick sortie to sea and refueling over the Atlantic, bombers taking off from Fairford must cross France from north to south and refuel once they reach the Mediterranean—unless they do so over French territory, which entails greater risk. In some cases where the bombers have not flown over France—either because Paris has not authorized it due to the payload or for operational reasons—they have had to circle the Iberian Peninsula to enter through the Strait of Gibraltar; since, as explained, Spain does not authorize them to enter its airspace. In these cases, as with the B-2s coming directly from the U.S., refueling is provided by KC-46 Pegasus tanker aircraft stationed at Lajes Air Base in the Azores. Spain’s refusal to support the airstrikes has not prevented the five U.S. Arleigh Burke-class destroyers stationed at the Rota naval base from playing a prominent role in the conflict, even though their mission is strictly defensive. Three of these ships—the USS Oscar Austin, the USS Roosevelt, and the USS Berkeley—have moved to the Eastern Mediterranean to protect Israel from missile attacks launched in retaliation by Iran. Thanks to their Aegis combat system, they have participated in the interception of three ballistic missiles that violated the airspace of Turkey, a NATO partner country. The Patriot missile battery that the Spanish Army has maintained for a decade at the U.S. base in Incirlik, Turkey, has also monitored these attacks; however, following the deployment of a second U.S. Patriot battery at the same base—with which the Spanish battery coordinates—the latter has specialized in neutralizing cruise missiles and drones in the Azores. The Spanish government is walking a tightrope in an attempt to maintain a delicate balance: it rejects any involvement in a war it deems illegal, while at the same time contributing to the defense of Turkey and Cyprus, in keeping with its commitments to NATO and the EU. The presence of British and French bases in the Gulf, as well as their interests in the region, explain the different attitudes shown by London and Paris, according to experts, while Germany—which hosts the control center for the armed drones operated by the Pentagon in the area at the Ramstein base—has a historical debt to Washington for its liberation from Nazism and its defense against the Soviet Union. The situation could become more complicated, they warn, if the current stalemate breaks down and, as Trump has threatened, the war enters a new phase of attacks on civilian targets and energy infrastructure—a scenario even more complicated for European partners. ¿Quieres añadir otro usuario a tu suscripción? Si continúas leyendo en este dispositivo, no se podrá leer en el otro. Si quieres compartir tu cuenta, cambia tu suscripción a la modalidad Premium, así podrás añadir otro usuario. 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