Closed skies

Spanish Defence Minister Margarita Robles confirmed that Spain has closed its airspace to US aircraft involved in the war against Iran. It is unclear when the closure took effect, though Sánchez had hinted at the measure during a parliamentary debate on March 25. Rubio, in an interview with Al Jazeera, accused Spain of "denying us the use of their airspace and bragging about it".

It is an escalation from Spain's original position. First came the ban on using the joint bases, which prompted the transfer of 15 tanker aircraft to Ramstein and Aviano. Then Trump's trade threat. Now the airspace closure. Each Washington move generated a harder response from Madrid, not a softer one. Sánchez has turned opposition to the war into his main domestic political platform, and it works: in a Europe that doesn't quite know what to do with the conflict, Spain is the only NATO country to adopt a clear and unyielding position.

France, for its part, also banned the overflight of aircraft carrying military supplies, prompting Trump to call it "very unhelpful". The Élysée said it was "surprised" by the criticism. The Atlantic alliance is fracturing in the skies before it fractures in the treaties.