The presidential candidate, Admiral Gouveia e Melo, attended the Aveiro Book Fair this past weekend. When questioned about the various global conflicts currently unfolding, the military leader reportedly attempted to avoid the topic. However, he did issue several warnings, including the fact that Portugal is not immune to any consequences.
The United States entered the war between Israel and Iran on Saturday by bombing three key facilities involved in Iran’s nuclear program. Gouveia e Melo reportedly refrained from commenting on this attack but shared his views on the war between Israel and Iran, which began in the early hours of June 13.
“The state of Israel is the size of Alentejo, a single nuclear warhead would kill everyone. Israel would be incinerated, but retaliating is pointless. If we’re all dead, retaliation doesn’t make sense either,” stated the former Chief of the Naval Staff, who announced his candidacy for the presidency at Belém at the end of May. He also issued a warning for Portugal in light of reports of 12 U.S. refueling planes at Lajes Base.
“We are not free from being coveted by some state that suddenly decides that the sea around the Azores should not be under Portuguese control but rather under the dominion of a more capable state,” he emphasized.
Regarding the future and how the Portuguese should prepare to face conflict, Gouveia e Melo expressed skepticism about a new military order that does not include Trump, Xi Jinping, and Putin. He commented, “Anyone who believes that can sleep peacefully but will wake up one day with someone kicking their door in. Those who don’t believe it, should prepare to prevent their door from being kicked open.”
The Ministry of National Defense has confirmed the presence of these aircraft, stating that “on June 18th [Wednesday], the U.S. requested, via diplomatic note, authorization for 12 refueling planes to use Lajes Base, which was granted.” Nuno Melo further noted that the request by the U.S. authorities was made on Wednesday and described it as a “routine procedure.”
The United States “requested, via diplomatic note, authorization for 12 refueling planes to use Lajes Base, which was granted.” The government assures that “no U.S. combat means have passed through Lajes Base for over a month.”
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The presence of these planes comes days before the U.S. decided to enter the conflict, which was initiated by Israel under the pretext of an imminent nuclear bomb, a claim refuted by Tehran.
Hours after the U.S. attack, Iran launched about 40 missiles against Israel, accusing the United States of destroying any chances for a diplomatic solution to the nuclear issue.
This Sunday, at a Pentagon press conference, the U.S. Defense Secretary commented that the United States “does not intend to go to war” with Iran, despite assuring that they will act “quickly and decisively” if their interests are threatened by Tehran as a form of retaliation.
