Austria's Defense Ministry stated, 'There have indeed been requests and they were refused from the outset.' The refusal is based on the country's neutrality policy, which has been in effect since 1955.
We don't authorise either the use of military bases or the use of airspace for actions related to the war in Iran, the minister, Margarita Robles, told reporters. I think everyone knows Spain's position. It's very clear, she added, calling the war profoundly illegal and profoundly unjust.
Ben Hodges said the proposed multinational force, discussed this week by the British and French leaders with Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Paris, had to be robust enough to deal with likely Kremlin-orchestrated provocations. The coalition of the willing has to have real force and rules of engagement that allow it to immediately react and respond to any violations, he said. Captains can't be having to call back to Paris or London to find out how to deal with a Russian drone.
The British government has not given permission for the US to use UK military bases to support potential US strikes on Iran, the BBC understands. The US has in the past used RAF Fairford, in Gloucestershire, and the UK overseas territory of Diego Garcia, in the Indian Ocean, to carry out strikes in the Middle East region. A UK government spokesperson said: "As routine, we do not comment on operational matters."
