LISBON (Dispatches) – 

Portuguese prosecutors have opened an investigation into the legality of the government’s authorization for the U.S. military to use Lajes Airbase in the Azores during the war on Iran, following a complaint from the opposition Left Bloc.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office confirmed in a statement that the inquiry was opened after Left Bloc lawmakers filed a complaint in April alleging that the center-right government’s authorization violated both Portuguese and international law. 

The Left Bloc, which sought the investigation through the Attorney General’s Office, stated that the U.S. use of the base constituted a “gross violation of International Law”.

Lajes Airbase, located on Terceira Island in the Azores archipelago some 1,600 kilometers west of mainland Portugal, is governed by a 1951 bilateral defense treaty. Under the agreement, the U.S. military can use the base without prior authorization during peacetime, but requires Lisbon’s approval once hostilities begin.

Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel has defended the authorization, claiming that the authorization was granted only after Washington assured Lisbon that all attacks on Iran via Lajes would be defensive, necessary, proportionate, and limited to military targets.

The reasoning is preposterous because the war launched by the U.S. and Israel was unprovoked, which came in the middle of nuclear negotiations, and targeted the highest figures of the country, including Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, in an act of terrorist aggression.

Left Bloc coordinator José Manuel Pureza questioned the credibility of Rangel’s claims. “Saying that the Lajes Airbase isn’t being used for aggressive purposes is pure fabrication. Saying that the Lajes Airbase agreement is being fulfilled is another fabrication.” 

The investigation comes as NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has repeatedly acknowledged that thousands of U.S. military flights — between 4,000 and 5,000 — departed

 from European bases during the 40-day U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, describing Europe as a “platform of power projection”.
Iran has warned countries against providing military bases or facilities to U.S. forces for operations against the country, saying such actions amount to complicity in aggression. 
Iranian health authorities reported more than 3,500 deaths during the second round of aggression, which began on February 28 and continued for around 40 days before a ceasefire was reached in April.