Spain is to join NATO's missile defence project, diplomats said Wednesday, ahead of a meeting of the alliance's defence ministers, DPA reported.
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero was expected to travel to NATO headquarters in Brussels to provide details at a press conference with Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta.
Ahead of the official announcement, Spanish newspaper El Pais reported that Spain was going to offer its naval base in Rota, in the southern region of Andalucia.
Turkey, Romania, Poland, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands have already agreed to host components of the missile defence system on their territories.
The United States insists the system is designed to ward off attacks from Iran. Moscow strongly opposes it, arguing it might also be used against Russia - a concern that NATO has so far failed to allay.