Peace Award for PM Sánchez / Premio de Paz al Presidente del Gobierno Sánchez

MARBELLA, SPAIN — April 2, 2026 — The Peace 2000 Institute today announces that the 2026 Leif Eiriksson Peace Award will be presented to Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and his government for their historic decision to close Spanish airspace, military bases, and ports to all military operations for wars in the Middle East that violate international law.

On March 30, 2026, Spain became the first European nation to sever its role in the transatlantic military supply chain — cutting off the flow of weapons, fuel, and personnel bound for active conflict zones where over 80,000 civilians, including more than 15,000 children, have been killed.

Alongside Prime Minister Sanchez, the Institute honours Minister of Defence Margarita Robles, Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares, and Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo for their roles in shaping and executing the Sanchez Doctrine — the principle that sovereign territory shall not serve as infrastructure for wars that violate international law.

The Leif Eiriksson Peace Award, named after the Icelandic explorer who reached the American continent in the year 1000, is presented to those who carry forward Iceland's thousand-year culture of peace. Past recipients include Gabriel Wolff, a young Israeli soldier imprisoned for refusing to bear arms against fellow citizens; Professor Johan Galtung, the father of modern peace studies; US Congresswoman Barbara Lee, who stood alone to oppose the authorisation of war before the Iraq invasion; and in 2025, the crew of the Madleen for their courage in bringing humanitarian aid to Gaza. Prime Minister Sanchez and his government now join this tradition — leaders who chose peace when the easier path was silence.

The Peace 2000 Institute calls upon the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Greece, Cyprus, Ireland, Iceland, Jordan, Qatar, Bahrain, Turkey, and Djibouti to follow Spain's lead and immediately close their airfields, seaports, and refuelling corridors to the machinery of this war.

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Media Contact: [email protected]  ·  Tel: +354 496 2000  ·  Spain: +34 951 823 000  ·  peace2000.org

Subject: The Global Infrastructure of Aggression vs. The Spanish Firebreak  ·  Date: April 2, 2026

The military operations against Iran, Lebanon, and Palestine are sustained by a logistical Spiderweb spanning Europe, the North Atlantic, and the Middle East. Following Spain's historic closure on March 30, 2026, the machinery of war has shifted to alternative hubs. This report maps the active combat corridors and identifies the nations whose infrastructure enables the continuation of these conflicts.

Over 72,253 Palestinians killed and 171,912 injured since October 2023. Of the dead, 14,824 were children under 15, including 968 infants under one year old. An estimated 44% of all victims were children. Gaza has become home to the largest cohort of child amputees in modern history — 475 Palestinian children suffering lifelong disabilities each month during 2024.

In the 2024 Israeli operations, 4,047 people were killed including 316 children and 790 women. The March 2026 escalation killed at least 886 people in just two weeks, including 111 children and 38 health workers. Approximately one quarter of Lebanon's entire population has been displaced.

Operation Epic Fury, launched on February 28, 2026, has killed at least 3,461 people including 1,354 confirmed civilians and 207 children. U.S. and Israeli strikes have damaged over 70,000 residential units, 300 health facilities, and 600 schools across Iran.

On March 30, 2026, Prime Minister Sanchez announced Spain would deny the US the use of Rota Naval Base and Moron Air Base. Spain closed its airspace to U.S. military aircraft and banned weapons vessels from Spanish ports.

The closure has had immediate strategic impact:

• Forced a 2,400-mile detour for combat aircraft from the U.S. East Coast
• Added approximately $1.2M in fuel costs per round-trip strategic sortie
• Forced relocation of KC-135 Stratotanker refueling aircraft to Ramstein Air Base, Germany
• Created a strategic bottleneck making the war logistically harder to sustain

United States: Launched Operation Epic Fury on February 28, 2026, with approximately 900 strikes on Iran in the first 12 hours. Origin of all heavy munitions and troop deployments.

United Kingdom: RAF Fairford is now the primary staging ground for U.S. B-52 and B-1 Lancer heavy bombers diverted from Spain. RAF Akrotiri (Cyprus) serves as the direct launchpad for strikes on Lebanon.

Germany: Ramstein Air Base is the command-and-control centre for all U.S. drone and satellite intelligence operations. Over 200 strategic airlift flights passed through Ramstein between March 13 and late March 2026.

France (UPDATED): Restricted the overflight of American military aircraft carrying weapons. France's restrictions have further tightened the Atlantic Air Bridge.

Italy (UPDATED): Refused US access to Naval Air Station Sigonella (Sicily). The Italian Ministry of Defence confirmed the refusal.

Jordan: Muwaffaq Salti Air Base hosts 60+ U.S. combat aircraft and F-15E Strike Eagles for active combat sorties.

Qatar: Al-Udeid Air Base hosts the forward CENTCOM headquarters controlling airpower across a 21-nation region.

Greece: Souda Bay (Crete) is the only deep-water Mediterranean port capable of maintaining supercarrier-class aircraft carriers.

Released on Holy Thursday, as Easter, Ramadan, Passover and the sacred seasons of all faiths converge in reflection on the sanctity of life. We call on all named governments to:

1. Deny airspace immediately to military aircraft involved in Middle East aggression
2. Revoke base access to any facility used for offensive strikes
3. Mandatory cargo inspection at Shannon, Schiphol, Keflavik, Eindhoven, and Rotterdam
4. Withdraw naval support at Souda Bay, Rotterdam, Larnaca, and Bahrain
5. EU unity — declare a continental Peace Zone over all European territorial waters and airspace

The Peace 2000 Institute will announce full details of the award ceremony — including date and venue — in due course. The ceremony will be held in Spain, in recognition of the nation's historic stand.

"The Spanish Precedent: Mapping a New World of Peace" — Drawing the parallel between Leif Eiriksson's discovery of Vinland in the year 1000 and Prime Minister Sanchez's discovery of a "New World of Diplomacy."