Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has defended his government and warned against the use of illegal military action following threats by Washington over his position on the Middle East conflict.
Addressing the attacks by the United States and Israel on Iran, Sánchez, leader of the Socialist Party, said his administration was “against this disaster” and that its position on the issue could be summed up with the words: “No to war.”
On Tuesday, US president Donald Trump had criticised Spain for its refusal to allow the military bases of Morón de la Frontera and Rota to be used in the offensive against Iran.
“Spain has been terrible,” Trump said during a meeting with German chancellor Friedrich Merz, adding that he had told treasury secretary Scott Bessent to “cut off all dealings” with the country.
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“So we’re going to cut off all trade with Spain,” Trump said.
Trump also reiterated his annoyance at the Sánchez administration’s refusal to raise defence spending to five per cent of GDP, along with other Nato members.
In a live televised statement on Wednesday, Sánchez responded to Trump’s comments and appeared to refer to the threat of a trade embargo.
“We are not going to be complicit in something which is bad for the world and which is also contrary to our values and interests, purely because of fear of reprisals,” he said.
Sánchez also warned that the conflict would have a worldwide economic impact.
“It is not even clear what the objectives were of those who launched the first attack,” he said, adding that this could be “a long war, with many casualties and, therefore, with serious consequences also on a global level in economic terms”.
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It is not yet clear what form, if any, Washington’s actions against Madrid will take, especially given that the US supreme court recently struck down Trump’s emergency trade tariffs.
In the immediate wake of his threats on Tuesday, the Spanish government had underlined that it was a reliable trade partner on the world stage with a “historic and mutually beneficial trade relationship” with the US. It also said that if the US government wished to review that relationship, “it should do so respecting the autonomy of private companies, international legality and bilateral agreements between the European Union and the United States”.
The antagonism between Trump and Sánchez has been building in recent months. The Spanish leader has been one of Europe’s most outspoken voices against the actions of US ally Israel in Gaza and Trump has frequently mentioned Spain’s refusal to accept Nato defence spending targets.
In January, Sánchez described the United States’s military incursion into Venezuela as a “very dangerous precedent”. Since then, he has announced a series of measures to clamp down on social media companies, including encouraging prosecutors to investigate X and Meta for possible child pornography crimes.
With mounting difficulties at home, including a fraying parliamentary majority and several corruption scandals affecting close allies, issues beyond Spain’s borders have provided Sánchez, the only left-wing leader of a major EU economy, with a relatively safe space. With more than three-quarters of Spaniards having a negative opinion of Trump, according to a recent poll, many observers believe that the bilateral tensions could benefit the Socialist leader.
The president of the European Council, António Costa, called Sánchez to “express the EU’s full solidarity with Spain”.
However, the opposition has accused the prime minister of opportunism.
“Mister Sánchez cannot use his political necessities to go against Spain’s security, stability and position in the world,” said Alberto Núnez Feijóo, leader of the conservative People’s Party (PP).
“The relationship with the United States must be maintained, whether or not we have differences with the president of the United States,” he said.
Keir Starmer said Britain would respond to the escalating with a “cool head” after Trump also chastised the prime minister for failing to provide sufficient support for his strikes on Iran.
Britain refused to allow its military bases to be used by the US for its assault on Tehran, only tempering that position when Iran attacked its neighbours – allowing UK bases to be used for limited defensive strikes.
Trump responded by castigating Starmer, including in the Oval Office on Tuesday where he told reporters “This is not Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with.”
Starmer, who had previously said any British military action must have a “viable, thought-through plan”, told parliament on Wednesday that the so-called special relationship was on display every day in the conflict, and didn’t hang on the words of the US president.
Citing American planes flying from British bases, British jets protecting US bases and the sharing of intelligence, he said: “That is the special relationship in action.
“Hanging on to president Trump’s latest words is not the special relationship.” – Additional reporting: Reuters
