Spain’s Sanchez defies Trump trade threat, reaffirms ‘no to war’ on Iran
text_fields
Madrid: Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Wednesday reiterated his strong opposition to the US and Israel’s military actions in Iran, brushing aside fresh trade threats from Washington and warning that the conflict risks “playing Russian roulette” with millions of lives.
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened to halt trade with Spain after Madrid refused to allow the United States to use joint military bases on Spanish soil for strikes against Iran.
“We are not going to be complicit in something that is bad for the world and is also contrary to our values and interests, just out of fear of reprisals from someone,” Sánchez said in a televised address.
It remains unclear how Trump could suspend trade with Spain, which is a member of the European Union. Trade policy for the bloc’s 27 member states is negotiated collectively by the EU.
Despite Spain’s refusal, Trump said on Tuesday that the US could use the bases if it wished, referring to two joint military installations in southern Spain that operate under Spanish command. “We could just fly in and use it,” Trump said. “Nobody's going to tell us not to use it, but we don’t have to.”
The latest warning from Washington adds to a pattern of Trump threatening tariffs or trade embargoes as punitive measures. Last month, the US Supreme Court struck down his sweeping global tariffs, ruling that emergency powers do not permit a president to unilaterally impose broad-based duties. However, Trump has maintained that the court’s decision still allows him to impose full-scale embargoes on selected countries.
Spain’s stance on Iran marks another point of friction in its ties with the Trump administration. Madrid has also been a vocal critic of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
Sánchez has described the US and Israeli strikes on Iran as an “unjustifiable” and “dangerous” military intervention. On Wednesday, he also drew parallels with the Iraq war, warning of its destabilising consequences and the rise of jihadi extremism that followed.
“In short, the position of the government of Spain can be summarised in four words,” Sánchez said. “No to the war.”
With PTI inputs