Portugal’s public prosecutor launched an investigation into the legality of the use of the US Air Force Base Lajes on the island of Terceira during the US conflict with Iran
And, what could Portugal’s public prosecutor’s office conclude now, after today’s assessment by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Lisbon that “Suffice it to say that we have existing protocols that regulate our presence here and the way we use our bases, and we always adhere to them out of respect for the agreements we have with our NATO allies,” Rubio told reporters at a press conference. (https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/rubio-says-us-follows-protocols-on-military-base-use-as-he-meets-portuguese-foreign-minister/4082437).
Since April, the Portuguese opposition party “Left Bloc” has not been convinced that the operation of American KC-46 refuelling warplanes and other elements of the military arsenal, from the Lajes base on the island of Terceira (in the Azores) this year, was completely in accordance with international laws. (https://www.dawn.com/news/2034633/portugal-probes-legality-of-us-use-of-base-in-iran-war).
On the one hand, Portugal and the USA have a bilateral defence agreement from the time of the Cold War, more precisely since 1951, and on this basis the 65th Air Base Wing of the US Air Force is stationed at the Lajes base in the middle of the Atlantic.
The backbone of that military base is the airstrip, which has one of the largest airfield ramps of the US Air Force in Europe. In other words, far from the conflict zone in the Middle East, the Lajes base is an extremely safe location for the preparation of operations of long-range bombers and army cargo and personnel transport.
Everything seems easy in peacetime—to comply with the agreement of 75 years ago, American warplanes take off and land from the runway at Lajes base without prior authorization from official Lisbon (https://www.telegraphindia.com/world/portugal-probes-us-use-of-lajes-base-in-iran-war-after-opposition-challenges-govt-approval/cid/2182967#goog_rewarded).
But what happens when war breaks out somewhere?
The Portuguese head of diplomacy, Paulo Rangel, points out that the use of the Lajes base was fully in accordance with international laws, and that – in the event of a conflict in the Persian Gulf, Lisbon gave authorization after Washington assured that any operation from Terceira Island (area of about 400 square kilometres, 55,000 inhabitants, about 1,200 kilometres west of Lisbon) would be exclusively for defensive purposes, necessary and proportionate and limited to military objectives.
It remains to be seen what will be the conclusion of the investigation by the Portuguese Public Prosecutor’s Office regarding the submission of the “Left Bloc” party.
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi recently warned the Europeans that they could be “complicit in aggression” if they allow the US to use bases on their territory for attacks on the Islamic Republic… (https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/araghchi-warns-european-countries-hosting-us-bases-could-be-complicit).
