Spain closes airspace to planes participating in the war
Margarita Robles states that, unlike in the past, "it is now well regarded" to invest in defense
MadridTo the Spanish government's rejection of the use of the US bases in Rota and Morón for operations related to the war in Iran –they continue to be active for all other activities– now comes the closure of airspace to planes participating in the attack by the United States and Israel against Iran, as reported by El País and confirmed by the Spanish government. With this decision, the State takes another step in its "no to war": "Everyone knows Spain's position. The use of the [Rota and Morón] bases is not authorized, and, of course, the use of Spanish airspace for actions related to the war in Iran is not authorized," stated the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, in a press briefing this Monday.
The step revealed this Monday has not yet been commented on by the White House. It should be recalled that in response to the limitation on the use of Rota and Morón, Donald Trump's Administration did not hesitate to threaten to cut commercial relations with the State. A warning, however, that has not materialized, or at least that is what the newly appointed First Vice President and Minister of Economy, Carlos Cuerpo, has pointed out: "Spanish companies operate under the same conditions with the United States as French or German companies," Cuerpo emphasized in an interview with SER this Monday. In fact, Cuerpo assured that commercial relations between Spain and the United States are functioning the same as before the conflict in the Middle East broke out, and the "forecast," said the minister, is that they will continue to do so.
The objective of the Spanish government with the decision to prohibit aircraft participating in the war from flying over its airspace is "to do nothing that could foster an escalation in this war", said the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, in an interview with RAC1 this Monday, from where he has once again called for "de-escalation" and the return of "diplomacy". In any case, Spain does offer "navigation support" to certain American bombers from the Seville Air Traffic Control Center, belonging to the public company Enaire. However, these are aircraft that have to cross the Strait of Gibraltar.
Climbing to Lebanon
The head of Defense also expressed her "enormous" concern about the ramifications of the war in Iran, especially regarding the situation in southern Lebanon. Robles revealed that on Monday morning a new attack occurred in the south of the country against the peacekeepers deployed as part of the United Nations peacekeeping mission, which caused the death of an Indonesian soldier under the command of Spanish troops in the area.
Monday's attack is the second in the area in less than 24 hours: on Sunday there was also one that caused the death of a soldier, also from Indonesia, and two wounded. Southern Lebanon is becoming one of the targets of Israel's attacks –more than a thousand deaths have already been counted–. Benjamin Netanyahu has even threatened a full-scale ground invasion. The State currently has 650 soldiers deployed in southern Lebanon, as explained by the Ministry of Defense, and they are part of the Unifil peacekeeping mission, which has a total of 10,000 peacekeepers.
"The United Nations must demand that this very serious situation be brought to an end. We are talking about a peacekeeping mission and it must always be respected in all cases," the minister reiterated. For the moment, the ministry will not make any decisions regarding the Spanish military in the area (it was planned that they would withdraw during this year) awaiting what the UN decides to do.
Regarding Israel, the Spanish government summoned Dana Erlich, Israel's chargé d'affaires in Spain and the last diplomatic representative, on Sunday for consultations due to the Israeli prohibition for the Latin Patriarch to celebrate Palm Sunday mass in Jerusalem. More investment
But beyond the clash over the use of the Rota and Morón bases, the tug-of-war between Donald Trump and Pedro Sánchez has long been marked by defense investment. The State has already said that it does not intend to reach 5% of gross domestic product (GDP) unlike other NATO allies, but it is doing everything possible to meet military capability objectives.
The one who most defends this long-term effort is precisely Margarita Robles, who stated this Monday that, unlike in the past, "today [in Spain] it is well regarded to invest in defense." "Some [companies] were going to ask for loans and the banks told them no. Today it is well regarded [to invest in defense] because it is employment, science and innovation," Robles said during the signing of the IN+DEF program, an alliance between the ministries of Defense, Industry, and Science and Universities to strengthen innovation in defense. The event was attended by companies from the sector, as well as members of the army, academics, and regional public representatives. Before all of them, Robles boasted of the "investment effort" that the State is making, and which for many of the attendees translates into a public shower of millions of euros. "Investing in defense is investing in peace," Robles concluded.