The Portuguese Government’s position of vassalage towards the United States of America and Israel is a disgrace to the Country. They are abdicating national sovereignty and independence to align themselves shamelessly with those who unabashedly flout the principles of the United Nations Charter and international law, with those who repress peoples fighting for their self-determination and the right to decide sovereignly on their future and that of their Country, with those who promote confrontation and war.

As if this were not already serious enough and contrary to the principles of our Constitution – which, in Article 7, states that Portugal advocates ‘the peaceful settlement of international disputes, non-interference in the internal affairs of other States’ and respect for the rights of peoples – in this debate the Government has sought to justify the unjustifiable.

The Government’s explanations for authorising the US to use the Lajes Base and involving Portugal in the war against Iran do not hold water; it has adopted an irresponsible and unacceptable position, the consequences of which on the international situation are unpredictable given the bellicose escalation fuelled by US imperialism, which, faced with the loss of its dominance, seeks to impose its political and economic hegemony by force of arms.

There is also information regarding the use of Lajes Air Base by aircraft bound for Israel, used in the genocide of the Palestinian people.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen,

‘It’s defensive,’ says the Government! But who launched a military attack on Iran? Was it not the United States of America? Yet they want us to believe that the US is the victim? Do they really think anyone is going to fall for this litany?

It is the US President himself who threatens peoples and makes the most inconceivable statements, such as, and I quote, ‘an entire civilisation will die tonight’, referring to Iran; that he will have the honour of taking Cuba; that they would administer Venezuela; that, and I quote, ‘We will do something about Greenland, whether the nice way or the hard way’; with total impunity. He embraces old colonialist notions as if he were the master of the world.

The Government claims it does not target civilian infrastructure! Do not try to pull the wool over our eyes. The US and Israel have attacked schools, healthcare centres and hospitals, and monuments classified as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

It was clear that the Government acted in flagrant disregard of the Constitution, international law and the principles of the United Nations Charter, and this requires a full explanation of the circumstances in which the Government’s decision was taken, and for this reason we have today submitted a proposal for the establishment of a Parliamentary Committee of Inquiry to investigate the Government’s political and legal responsibilities for the decision to involve the country in the US and Israeli aggression against Iran.

And there are expressions of gratitude that are clear evidence of the crime, as stated by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio himself: “To be fair, there are countries in NATO that were very helpful to us. I’ll just single one out: Portugal. They said yes even before we told them what the question was.” They may well come here to deny it; all that remains is to point out that the Lajes base is not in Portugal, but this confession completely undermines the Government’s whole spiel. All this merely proves the PCP right when it stresses the need to find out what actually happened. Let them not try to entertain us with fairy tales.

It is essential to rigorously establish the political and legal responsibilities of the Portuguese Government for the decision to authorise the use of the Lajes base, namely:

- What grounds did the US administration cite for its request to use Lajes Base, and what information was provided regarding the military operations carried out on Portuguese territory?

- What clarifications did the Government request from the US Administration, and what assessment did the Government make regarding the request’s compatibility with the principles of international law and the United Nations Charter?

- What assessment did the Government make regarding the use of Lajes Base, taking into account the objectives of the US Armed Forces;

- What consideration did it give to the foreseeable impacts on Portugal of authorising the use of Lajes Base to support military aggression against a sovereign State;

- What control did it exercise over the use of Lajes Base, and what mechanisms were used by the Government for this purpose, amongst other matters.

We propose a Parliamentary Committee of Inquiry because it is the instrument that enables the Assembly of the Republic to scrutinise and oversee the Government’s actions.

In this debate, we have denounced the Government’s complicity with the aggressive and warmongering policies of the US and Israel, from which the European Union also fails to distance itself – quite the contrary. And those who support the military aggression of the US and Israel in the Middle East, like the PSD/CDS Government, IL and CH, are also responsible for its consequences, notably the rising cost of living being felt in our Country.

Above all, we emphasise that what is required is to move forward on a path towards peace, respecting the will of the people and their right to development and progress.