Spanish authorities have detected "Pegasus" spyware in the mobile phones of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Defense Minister Margarita Robles, the government minister for the presidency Felix Bolanos said on Monday.

"The interventions were illicit and external. External means carried out by non-official bodies and without state authorization," he told a news conference, adding that the infections had been reported to the justice ministry, and the High Court would be in charge of the case.

Bolanos did not say whether the Spanish authorities had any indication yet where the attack originated from or whether another country was behind it.