Opposition party protests against US military aircraft transiting through Lajes Air Base, calling it a “violation of international law”

(Brussels = Yonhap News) Correspondent Hyun Yoon-kyung = Portuguese prosecutors have begun an investigation into whether it was legal for the Portuguese government to allow the United States to use an air force base in the Azores Islands in the Atlantic Ocean during the war with Iran.

According to Reuters, the Portuguese prosecutor's office issued a statement on the 3rd (local time) and said, "We have begun an investigation into this matter following a complaint filed by the left-wing bloc party."

The left-wing bloc party requested prosecutors in April to investigate the US military's use of Lajes Air Base in the Azores during the war against Iran, claiming it was a "serious violation of international law."

Portugal's center-right government, unlike its neighbor Spain, allowed U.S. military aircraft to transit through its air force base during the Iran war that broke out in late February, drawing strong criticism from the left-wing opposition party.

Spain, which declared that it would not participate in any form in the war against Iran started by the United States and Israel as an illegal war, did not allow the U.S. military to use its military bases or use its airspace, sparking a backlash from the United States.

When controversy arose over the U.S. military's use of the Lajes base, Portuguese Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel refuted that Portugal was not involved in the Middle East conflict and that the U.S. military's use of the Lajes base complied with international law.

Secretary Langhel claimed at the time that he authorized its use after receiving assurances from the United States that the operation would be defensive, proportional, and limited to military targets.

Under a bilateral agreement with Portugal, the U.S. military can use the Lajes base in peacetime without prior permission, but must obtain Portugal's approval in times of hostilities.

Lajes Air Base, located in the Azores Islands in the Atlantic Ocean, a Portuguese territory, serves as a strategic relay base for the U.S. military in accordance with the defense treaty between the two countries signed in 1951, and is used to support operations of the U.S., the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and its allies.