The Spanish government continues to stand out among European countries for its explicit refusal to become complicit in illegal US-Israeli attacks on Iran. Over recent days, government officials reasserted that the country had rejected use of its airspace for flights involved in the war. “All flight plans involving operations in Iran have been rejected,” Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez stated during a parliamentary address. Sánchez added this decision was made “because we are a sovereign country that does not want to participate in illegal wars.”

Spain is also limiting the use of military bases by the US. On Monday, Defense Minister Margarita Robles said that the government “will under no circumstances authorize – it has never authorized, doesn’t currently authorize, and never will authorize – the use of the Rota and Morón bases to wage a war we’re completely opposed to, don’t believe in, and consider deeply illegal and unjust.”

Read more: Spanish government stands up to US threats, says it will work for peace and international law

These recent decisions by the Spanish government have likely caused some logistical headaches for the Trump administration, forcing it to reroute flights through other European bases. Given European leaders’ history of appeasing their ally, these disruptions are probably more of an inconvenience than a serious problem.

Yet reports have also appeared about other nations hesitating to let US flights use their territory and airspace to feed the US-Israeli campaign – with Britain being a notable exception, seeing that Prime Minister Keir Starmer shows no visible doubts about his allegiance to the US despite repeated public demands to change course.

On Tuesday, a social media post from the US president pointed out that France had not allowed a US aircraft loaded with military equipment bound for Israel to fly over its territory. President Trump described this behavior as “very unhelpful,” while Israeli media reported the move resulted in a decision by occupation authorities not to sell “defense” products to France anymore.

Around the same time, information surfaced that Giorgia Meloni’s Defense Minister Guido Crosetto had also denied use of Sigonella airbase in Sicily to US planes. However, he claimed this was because they failed to follow proper procedures and notify relevant authorities about their plans – not necessarily because their mission undermines international law.

Read more: South Asia faces severe economic crisis due to US-Israeli war on Iran

As European leaders face the (impossible) balancing act of not angering the Trump administration too much without starting to fully mirror its approval rates, they continue with a disgraceful foreign policy approach at the EU level. On March 30 – as the US and Israel had bombed hundreds of schools, health centers, and key energy infrastructure in Iran – the Council of the EU announced it would extend sanctions on Iran for another year. In the announcement, they said that “the EU strongly supports the fundamental aspirations of the people of Iran for a future where their human rights and fundamental freedoms are fully respected and fulfilled.”

There have not been any signs about applying a comparable sanctions package on Israeli individuals and entities, despite the occupation regime recently passing legislation that will allow the execution by hanging of Palestinian prisoners – which most experts and people in Europe find an extremely gross infringement of human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Similarly, as of now, the EU-Israel Association Agreement, one of the many puzzle pieces fueling not only Israel’s genocide in Gaza, but also its occupation and war crimes across the region, remains standing.

Instead, EU statements still avoid naming their partners, the US and Israel, as perpetrators of an illegal and catastrophic war that is already inflicting harm on European populations. On March 31, 2026, more than a month into the assault, European Council President António Costa reported about a call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, not mentioning the US-Israel alliance once. Instead, Costa urged Pezeshkian to stop “unacceptable” attacks in the region and engage in diplomacy.

“The loss of innocent lives, including in the Minab school,” Costa wrote on social media, “is deeply regrettable.”

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