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LISBON: Portuguese prosecutors said on Saturday they had opened a probe into the legality of the centre-right government\u2019s authorisation of the United \u200bStates\u2019 use of the Lajes Air Base in the Azores during \u200cthe Iran conflict, following a complaint by an opposition party.<\/strong><\/p>\n A longstanding agreement with the US allows Washington to use the base without prior authorisation during peacetime, but requires \u200bPortugal to give approval once hostilities begin.<\/span><\/p>\n Portugal, unlike neighbouring Spain, authorised \u200bseveral US transit flights through the Lajes air base, a decision \u2060that drew criticism from left-wing opposition parties and triggered a political \u200bdebate over Lisbon\u2019s role in operations linked to the conflict with Iran.<\/span><\/p>\n In a \u200bstatement, the Prosecutor General\u2019s Office said \u201cthe probe was opened following a complaint filed by members of the Left Bloc party,\u201d without providing further details.<\/span><\/p>\n Portugal\u2019s Foreign Ministry declined to \u200bcomment.<\/span><\/p>\n The Left Bloc asked prosecutors in April to investigate the US use \u200bof the Lajes base, arguing it amounted to a \u201cgross violation of international law.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n However, Foreign \u200cMinister \u2060Paulo Rangel has said Portugal was not involved in the conflict and that the use of the Lajes base complied with international law, having been authorised only after assurances from Washington that any operation would be defensive, \u200bnecessary and proportionate, \u200band limited to \u2060military targets.<\/span><\/p>\n Portugal\u2019s prosecutors are bound by the principle of legality, requiring them to investigate alleged wrongdoing when there are \u200bsufficient grounds to do so, unlike in some jurisdictions \u200bwhere prosecutors \u2060have broader discretion to decide whether a case should proceed.<\/span><\/p>\n