LISBON, April 7 (Reuters) – Portugal said it had authorised 76 landings by U.S. aircraft at the Lajes air base in the Azores and 25 overflights of its territory since the start of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, on condition they were not used to bomb civilian infrastructure.
Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel told a parliamentary hearing the U.S. had complied with the condition, in the spirit of “loyal cooperation” between the two NATO allies, but said that on several occasions landings had also been refused.
Spain, France, Italy, Austria and Switzerland have restricted or refused U.S. military aircraft access to their airspace or bases in connection with the war in Iran.
U.S. President Donald Trump has given Iran until 8 p.m. on Tuesday in Washington – 3:30 a.m. on Wednesday in Tehran – to end its blockade of Gulf oil or see the U.S. destroy every bridge and power plant in Iran.
“We are against any attack on civilian infrastructure, and we made that a condition for the use of the Lajes air base,” Rangel said, explaining that Lisbon grants authorisation to use the base for military action in the event of an attack on the United States, provided the response is “necessary and proportional” and does not target civilians.
“The Portuguese government has always made a point of handling this transparently. We say when we authorise it and when there are transits of U.S. aircraft, other (European) governments do as they see fit,” Rangel said, reiterating that Portugal supports a diplomatic resolution of the Iran conflict.
Lajes Air Base is a strategic hub that hosts the 65th Air Base Wing of the U.S. Air Force, providing base and en route support for U.S., NATO and allied operations.
(Reporting by Sergio Goncalves; editing by Andrei Khalip and Gareth Jones)
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