Rajat Bedi is not playing the name game anymore

Spain has formally refused to allow American military bases on its territory to be used in the ongoing US and Israeli campaign against Iran, with fifteen aircraft already departing from the Rota and Moron bases in southern Spain, according to flight tracking data from FlightRadar24. Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said the bases, jointly operated but under Spanish sovereignty, would not be used for anything outside the bilateral agreement with Washington or in contradiction of the UN Charter. Defence Minister Margarita Robles confirmed the departing jets were primarily Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker aerial refuelling aircraft, with nine tankers departing from Moron airbase heading to Ramstein Air Base in Germany and further flights leaving from Rota. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez delivered the sharpest condemnation of the strikes among Western leaders, saying one could oppose the Iranian regime and simultaneously oppose a military intervention that was unjustified, dangerous and outside international law. He called on the European Union to join Spain in pushing for immediate de-escalation and dialogue. Europe's allies have fractured sharply over the conflict. The UK initially refused to allow the use of its bases but Prime Minister Keir Starmer reversed course, authorising their use for collective self-defence while stating Britain would not directly join the strikes. Germany has also refused to participate. The divisions expose a deepening transatlantic fault line over the legality, timing and consequences of Operation Epic Fury.