The KC-135 and KC-46 Stratotanker refueling planes deployed at Lajes Base were one of the pieces of Operation MidnightHammer, carried out by the United States targeting Iran, where nuclear facilities were bombed in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The website “TheAviationist” reports that a total of 125 aircraft were deployed in the mission, citing details provided by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley at a press conference.

Pete Hegseth said that the operation “required months and weeks of positioning and preparation”. It included around 30 tanker planes, which were mobilized on the night of the 15th to the 16th and landed at Ramstein, Germany; Morón Air Base and NAS Rota, Spain; and Lajes Air Base.

The US used B-2 bombers as a diversionary maneuver, placing them in the Pacific. Meanwhile, seven B-2s flew for 18 hours across the Atlantic, with minimal air refueling and communications, until they reached Iran.

Meanwhile, in a statement issued on Sunday, the Ministry of National Defense said that “on June 18, the US requested, through a diplomatic note, authorization for 12 refueling planes to use the Lajes Base, which was granted” and that “in this notification, it is stated that the mission of the aircraft is to support the US Naval Force in the Atlantic”.

“This is standard procedure and the aircraft that are in the Azores are air refueling planes. They are not offensive aircraft, but just refueling aircraft. It should be clarified that no US combat aircraft have passed through Lajes Base for over a month,” said the Portuguese Ministry of Defense.

The statement added that “apart from this notification, issued through regular and appropriate channels, there has been no further contact from the US authorities”.

“Portugal grants specific, quarterly or permanent overflight and landing authorizations, not only to the US, but to many other countries. Based on these authorizations, the stationing of military aircraft is normally notified 72 hours in advance or shorter, due to the unpredictability of some missions,” continued the Ministry of Defence.

Yesterday, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Paulo Rangel, said that “it is clear that the EU – and here there is great agreement from the various states – views these developments with great concern, in the sense that they aggravate international tensions”.

Rangel was participating in a meeting of European Union foreign ministers. Speaking to journalists, he argued that Iran should adopt a negotiating stance and abandon its nuclear program.

The Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, wrote on Sunday on the social network X that “Iran’s nuclear program is a serious threat to world security and cannot therefore continue”, but made no reference to the use of the Lajes Base.

On the other hand, Livre, PCP, and Bloco de Esquerda questioned whether the Portuguese government was aware of the US intentions in placing the refuelers at Lajes.

On Saturday, Francisco César, a Socialist member of the Portuguese Parliament and leader of the PS/Azores, requested clarification from the government of the Republic regarding the unusually high presence of refueling planes at the Lajes Base.

“We know about the tense situation in the Middle East, namely Israel’s relationship with Iran, we also know about the NATO summit, and there is no explanation, nor any inducement on the part of the government, as to whether this movement is related to a NATO exercise or to the situation in the Middle East,” he said, speaking to LUSA.

Also on Saturday, the Left Bloc said it had sent a request to the government of the Republic “asking if it is prepared – as it has announced it has done in relation to ships and aircraft serving in Israel’s armed forces – to seal off national infrastructure and maritime and airspace to any ship or aircraft, including those of the US Navy and Air Force, involved in missions within the framework of the illegal aggression against Iran”.

In the early hours of Sunday morning, around 2.30am in Iran, the “MidnightHammer” mission was taking place. US President Donald Trump called it a “spectacular military success”.

In Diário Insular, José Lourenço-director

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