:ALERTRED:
SPAIN IS PULLING OUT!
Spain withdraws frigate from US combat group as tensions with Iran rise
Spain withdraws frigate from US combat group as tensions with Iran rise
Acting Defense Minister Margarita Robles insists her government is a “serious and trustworthy partner,” but that it is only bound to agreements made with the EU and NATO
14 MAY 2019 - 09:29 CEST
Spanish frigate ‘Méndez Núñez’ (l) and ‘USS Abraham Lincoln.’ Spanish navy
Spain wants to avoid being involuntarily dragged into any kind of conflict with Iran. As such, acting Defense Minister Margarita Robles has ordered the Spanish frigate the Méndez Núñez, with 215 sailors on board, to be temporarily removed from the combat group headed by the USS Abraham Lincoln, given the rising tensions between Washington and Tehran. The fleet has already crossed the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, which joins the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, and is headed to the Strait of Hormuz where it will enter the Persian Gulf. It will be doing so, however, without the Spanish vessel.
The integration of the
Méndez Núñez in the combat group (in which no other non-US ship is present) was planned at least a year ago, with the aim of improving interoperability and joint training. The operation was designed to last six months, from the end of April until October 31, when the Spanish vessel was due to arrive in the port of San Diego (California) after having crossed the Mediterranean, the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean, the South China Sea and the Pacific. As well as the
Lincoln, which counts on 85 aircraft on board, the group is made up of a guided missile cruiser, three destroyers and a logistics ship, as well as a
submarine.
On May 8, during a visit to the air base in Morón de la Frontera in Seville, at which US troops are stationed,
Robles made clear that, with relation to the Iranian crisis, “Spain’s commitment is to the European Union and international organizations, and from there we will always adopt our common positions.” Distancing herself from unilateral moves made by the US, the defense minister insisted that Spain is a “serious and trustworthy partner,” but that its armed forces are only bound to agreements made with the European Union and NATO.
At the beginning of May, Tehran announced that it would no longer be observing the commitments it took on as
part of its nuclear deal, an agreement from which Washington withdrew a year ago. US President Donald Trump reacted by announcing new sanctions against Iran, focused on the strategic sector of industrial metals. The EU has distanced itself from these sanctions and is committed to saving the deal with Iran.
While the military deployment had been planned several months ago, the American National Security Advisor, John Bolton, stated that its aim was to “send a clear and unmistakable message” to Iran that “any attack on United States’ interests or on those of our allies will be met with unrelenting force.”
In recent days, the Pentagon has aired plans to send the
USS Arlington to the area, with a landing force on board, as well as a
battery of Patriot missiles. This would be in addition to the deployment of B-52 bombers in Qatar. This is all in response to what the US describes as “a number of troubling and escalatory indications and warnings.” The situation has deteriorated yet further given the confused news accounts about attacks on and sabotage of Saudi oil tankers and commercial ships near the coasts of the Emirates.
The decision means that the
Méndez Núñez will continue in the area, but without entering into the Gulf, with the intent of rejoining the US combat group once it continues on its route – provided that the fleet continues on its planned route. From California, the frigate is due to return to Spain via the
Panama Canal, completing its journey around the globe. Minister Robes traveled on Monday to Brussels to take part in a meeting of EU defense chiefs.
During its integration into the US combat group, Spain handed over operational control of the frigate to the US command of the combat group, albeit under strict rules of engagement, with the overall command of the vessel residing with the relevant Spanish authorities.
English version by
Simon Hunter.