Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free
Your guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the world
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called the US-Israeli war in Iran a “disaster” that he likened to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Israel’s assault on Gaza after US President Donald Trump threatened to cut trade ties with Spain over the conflict.
Sánchez said on Wednesday that he was opposed to the Iranian regime but argued that the attack on the country was a breach of international law.
“You cannot respond to illegality with more illegality, because that is how humanity’s great disasters begin,” he said in an address to the nation on Wednesday.
Spain’s firm opposition to the war, which has made it an outlier in Europe, was consistent with its position on the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, Sánchez said, summing up its stance as “no to war”.
“We are against this disaster because we understand that governments are here to improve people’s lives, to provide solutions to problems, not to make people’s lives worse,” he said, calling for all involved to turn to “dialogue and diplomacy”.
He compared the Iran war with the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, which he said produced more terrorism, a migration crisis in Europe and a surge in energy prices.
“It’s true that it is still too early to know whether the war in Iran will have consequences similar to those of Iraq,” he said. “What we do know is that it will not produce a more just international order, nor will it lead to higher wages and better public services, or a healthier environment.”
On Tuesday, Trump ordered his administration to “cut off” all trade ties with Spain in retaliation for the country’s refusal to let the US use two jointly operated Spanish military bases to attack Iran. “Spain has been terrible,” the US president said.
Trump, who also noted Spain’s refusal to accept Nato’s target of spending 5 per cent of GDP on defence, said: “Spain has absolutely nothing that we need other than great people. They have great people, but they don’t have great leadership.”
Sánchez did not respond to the trade threat specifically, but said: “We have absolute confidence in the economic, institutional and I would also say moral strength of our country.”
Drawing on historical references, including the first world war, Sánchez said: “Major wars often arise from a chain of reactions that spiral out of control because of miscalculations, technical failures, or unforeseen events. Therefore we must learn from history. We cannot play Russian roulette with the fate of millions of people.”
The Iran clash marks a new low in relations between Trump and Sánchez, the EU’s most senior leftwing leader, who has been at odds with the White House over issues from defence spending and Gaza to China and the power of Big Tech.
Michael Walsh, a foreign policy expert and former Joe Biden campaign official, said Sánchez’s block on the use of Spanish military bases “undermined the US global posture in the middle of major combat operations” and was the latest in “a long series of public confrontations” with the White House.
“If the Trump administration wants to send a message on the potential consequences of misalignment with the United States to Nato allies and non-Nato allies, then Spain provides the perfect target,” Walsh said.
