Spain has denied the US permission to use their shared bases to launch attacks against Iran.

The country’s socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez condemned Israel and the US for striking Iran and killing Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

He said Madrid rejected ‘the unilateral military action by the United States and Israel, which represents an escalation and contributes to a more uncertain and hostile international order’.

Sanchez added Spain ‘likewise’ rejected the actions of the Iranian regime.

Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said Spain wanted ‘democracy, freedom and fundamental rights for the Iranian people’, but it would not allow its bases to be used in the ongoing military action. 

He said: ‘I want to be very clear and very plain. The bases are not being used, nor will they be used, for anything that is not in the agreement [with the US], nor for anything that isn’t covered by the UN charter.’

Defence Minister Margarita Robles said: ‘There is a deal with the US over these bases, but our understanding of the deal is that operations have to comply with international legal frameworks and that there has to be international support for them.’

The decision puts Spain at odds with its European partners including the UK, France and Germany, who on Sunday said they would defend their interests in the region through defensive action to destroy Iran’s capability to fire missiles and drones.  

Spain has denied the US permission to use their shared bases to launch attacks against Iran. Pictured:  Moron Air Base

Spain’s socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez condemned Israel and the US for striking Iran and killing Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

The US and Israel has pounded Tehran with missiles since launching their operation on Saturday

Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte also said that Europe is ‘absolutely supportive’ of US action.

‘It’s really important what the ​US is doing here, together with Israel, because it is taking out, ​degrading the capacity of Iran ​to get its hands on nuclear capability, ‌the ⁠ballistic missile capability,’ he told Germany’s ARD television. 

Several US aircraft have departed the joint Rota and Morón military bases in southern Spain in recent days.

At least seven jets were shown to have landed at Germany’s Ramstein airbase.

On Sunday, Sanchez again lashed out at the US and Israel.

In a speech in Barcelona, he said: ‘Today, more than ever, it’s vital to remember that you can be against a hateful regime, as Spanish society is as a whole when it comes to the Iranian regime, and, at the same time, against an unjustified and dangerous military intervention that is outside international law.’ 

European Union leaders issued a joint statement Saturday calling for restraint and engaging in regional diplomacy in hopes of ‘ensuring nuclear safety.’ 

Keir Starmer initially refused to give the US permission to use UK bases but on Sunday said he would allow them to launch ‘defensive strikes’. 

Sir Keir claimed the UK has learned lessons from ‘the mistakes of Iraq’ and he would only allow strikes for the ‘limited specific defensive purpose’ of defending British allies.

He said it is ‘my duty to protect British lives’ from Iranian ‘scorched earth strikes’ but ruled out taking part in pre-emptive strikes – as he faced criticism for his ‘pathetic’ refusal to explicitly support Mr Trump’s strikes on Iran.

The PM said it ‘remains the case’ the UK is not involved in strikes on Iran and will ‘not join offensive action now’. 

The US President said he was ‘very disappointed’ with the PM and he ‘took far too long’ to change his mind.