A question submitted on Friday to the Assembly of the Republic and released by the party today by the national coordinator and sole deputy of the BE, Mariana Mortágua, highlights the presence of over a dozen U.S. Air Force refueling planes at the Lajes Air Base, used militarily by the United States of America under a cooperation agreement.
Contacted by a Portuguese news agency, sources from the United States Department of Defense have not clarified whether the presence of these aircraft is related to the situation in the Middle East, only stating that “the U.S. European Command routinely hosts U.S. military aircraft (and personnel) in a transient mode, in accordance with base access and overflight agreements with allies and partners,” as mentioned in the question.
Mortágua also notes that other news reports and public statements from U.S. government officials, “including from Secretary Marco Rubio, openly mention the support of U.S. military forces for the execution of aggression operations against Iran initiated by the State of Israel on June 13, in blatant violation of International Law and promptly condemned by a large part of the international community, including the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres.”
The sole BE deputy seeks to know whether the Portuguese Government is aware “of this sudden increase in the use of the Lajes Base by the United States Air Force” or if it has received any explanation regarding these movements.
The party wants to know if the Government is willing to “deny the use of national infrastructures and maritime and air spaces to any vessel or aircraft, including those of the U.S. Navy and Air Force, involved in missions within the framework of the illegal aggression against Iran.”
Today, PS and PCP also called on the Government to clarify this situation.
In statements to Lusa, PS deputy Francisco César expressed that the socialists want to know if the Government was notified by U.S. authorities about the refueling planes at the Lajes Base and if it intends to share the reasons behind this movement with the main opposition parties.
Francisco César mentioned knowledge of 18 such aircraft in the archipelago, 12 stationed within the facility and another six continuously airborne, whose presence “is known by the entire population” due to the constant movement.
On Friday, Lusa observed 12 aerial refueling aircraft at that facility.
Asked about the presence of these aircraft at Lajes, a U.S. Department of Defense source explained that “the U.S. European Command routinely hosts U.S. military aircraft (and personnel) in transient mode, in accordance with base access and overflight agreements with allies and partners.”
“Beyond that, we have nothing more to share,” they added.
Lusa inquired whether the presence of this number of aircraft at Lajes is standard and if it is connected with the situation in the Middle East.
They also questioned whether there was an expected increase in military aircraft activity at Lajes Base.
On Wednesday, Lusa had already questioned the U.S. Department of Defense about a possible reinforcement of military activity at Lajes due to the Middle East situation but was only informed that there were no changes to announce that day.
