Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel Defers Lajes-Accord Revision Until After the Middle East Crisis on RTP Antena 1 — Thirty-Year-Old Treaty Calls for 'Many Adjustments' Ahead of Mid-June Parliamentary Hearing

Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel told RTP Antena 1 on Tuesday 9 June that the Acordo das Lajes (Lajes Agreement) governing United States use of the Azores airbase will need revision — but not under the pressure of the current Middle East crisis. "Passaram 30 anos sobre o acordo que foi feito" (thirty years have passed since the agreement was signed), the chief diplomat said, adding that "é natural que haja muitos ajustamentos a fazer" (it is natural that many adjustments need to be made) given how much the strategic environment has shifted since the mid-1990s.

The framing matters. By bracketing revision around the Iran operations, Rangel stopped short of either committing to a renegotiation timetable or rejecting one. "Quando se dissipar e se resolver este conflito, essa seria uma altura para começar a pensar nisso" (when this conflict dissipates and resolves, that would be the time to start thinking about it), he told the broadcaster — leaving the diplomatic door open while parking the practical question.

That distinction lands as Parliament absorbs two weeks of Lajes fallout. The Assembleia da República (Parliament) rejected on 3 June twin proposals from the PCP and Bloco de Esquerda for a formal inquiry into the Government's authorisation of US use of the base during the Iran strike sequence, with PSD, Chega, PS, Iniciativa Liberal and CDS-PP blocking the motion. Rangel said on Tuesday that he will return to the Hemiciclo at mid-June for a fuller parliamentary intervention on the file — the second time in two months the Lajes question hits the plenário (plenary).

President António José Seguro, speaking from Terceira at the Dia de Portugal ceremonies on Wednesday, declined to engage the revision question directly. Observador's contemporaneous reporting notes that Seguro had himself defended a Lajes reset five months ago during the presidential campaign — when the file sat outside his official remit. The Azores Regional Government has tied any rework to compensation arithmetic: "Portugal não cobra pelas Lajes. Essa discussão terminou" (Portugal does not charge for Lajes. That discussion is over), PS deputy Francisco César told the Parliamentary Defence Committee — a position that closes one of the obvious bargaining chips before any negotiation reopens.

The current framework, signed in 1995 and last amended in 2005, lets the United States stage operations out of Lajes Field provided actions respect "principles of necessity and proportionality" and avoid civilian targeting. Lisbon's pre-approval rests on case-by-case clearance through the Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), with operational restrictions calibrated to North Atlantic Treaty Organization commitments and the bilateral defence-cooperation chapter agreed at the 2005 review.

The political read: Rangel needs the centre-right majority that backed him on the inquiry vote to hold for any revision. That means anchoring revision in NATO consensus and in the wider European Council's strategic compass — both of which are themselves under acute revision after the Iran operations and President Trump's pressure for higher European defence-spending floors. The mid-June parliamentary intervention, paired with the European Council on 26-27 June and the Madrid NATO summit calendar, will set whether Lisbon negotiates from a position of strength, urgency, or both. For Terceira, where the Lajes Field economic footprint has thinned year over year since the 2014 drawdown of US Air Force personnel, a renegotiated chapter on dual-use civilian activity may matter more than the strategic framing.