US aircraft leave Spain after government says bases cannot be used for Iran attacks

MADRID, March 2 - Fifteen U.S. aircraft have left the Rota and Moron military bases in southern Spain since the U.S. and Israel launched weekend attacks on Iran, maps by flight tracking website FlightRadar24 showed on Monday.

Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said Spain would not allow its military bases, which are jointly operated by the U.S. and Spain but under Spanish sovereignty, to be used for attacks on Iran, which Spain has condemned.

At least seven of the aircraft were shown on FlightRadar24 as having landed at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.

Britain had also initially refused to allow the use of its bases for an attack on Iran, but on Sunday Prime Minister Keir Starmer authorised their use for "collective self-defence".