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LISBON, Portugal — <\/span>U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio<\/a> is in Portugal on the last leg of a three-nation tour of NATO allies.<\/p>\n Rubio arrived in Lisbon on Thursday for a brief stop on his return to Washington, a day after delivering a speech<\/a> in the Greek capital of Athens urging European countries to save Western civilization by upholding the values and traditions of ancient Greece.<\/p>\n Rubio, who began his trip in Iceland<\/a>, is expected to thank Portuguese officials for supporting U.S. operations in the Iran war by allowing the U.S. to use the Lajes Field air base in Portugal\u2019s mid-Atlantic Azores islands, which is strategically located for military refueling flights.<\/p>\n The U.S. Air Force has long had a base there under an agreement with Portugal. Unlike neighboring Spain, where Socialist leader Pedro S\u00e1nchez refused to allow<\/a> the American military to use Spanish bases to stage operations for attacks on Iran, Portugal\u2019s center-right government<\/a> granted Washington \u201cconditional approval\u201d to use Lajes Field.<\/p>\n \u201cPortugal is a great ally, very cooperative ally of the United States and a country with which we already have a solid and growing relationship. And we visit these countries in order to reinforce those ties,\u201d Rubio said before departing Athens. \u201cThat\u2019s the purpose of the trip.\u201d<\/p>\n