The Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has responded forcefully to Donald Trump’s threat to cut off all trade with Spain, reiterating his government’s firm opposition to the escalating conflict in the Middle East. In a speech on Wednesday, Sánchez said his country would not be complicit in the war ‘simply out of fear of reprisals from someone’, a clear reference to Trump’s remarks. He summed up Spain’s stance in three words: ‘No to war.’
Trump had earlier accused Spain of being ‘terrible’ for refusing the US permission to use jointly operated bases in southern Spain for attacks against Iran. During a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Trump said he had instructed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to ‘cut off all dealings’ with Spain. The US president also criticised Spain for not meeting Nato’s defence spending target of 5% of GDP.
In his address, Sánchez warned the US, Israel and Iran to stop their war before it was too late, saying: ‘You can’t respond to one illegality with another.’ He compared the situation to playing ‘Russian roulette with the destiny of millions’ and cautioned that the conflict could become a long war with severe global economic consequences. Sánchez pointedly invoked the 2003 invasion of Iraq, which he said had unleashed ‘the greatest wave of insecurity our continent has suffered since the fall of the Berlin Wall’.
Later on Wednesday, the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, claimed that Spain had changed its position and agreed to cooperate with US military action. Spain’s foreign minister, José Manuel Albares, immediately denied any change, stating: ‘Our ‘no to war’ stance remains clear and unequivocal.’ A government spokesperson added: ‘It is not true. We categorically deny any change.’
Trump also launched a personal attack on UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer over his refusal to meet defence spending demands, but the focus of the trade dispute remains on Spain’s refusal to allow US use of its bases. Sánchez criticised leaders who use war as a ‘smokescreen’ to hide failure and profit a select few, insisting that a government’s prime responsibility is to protect its citizens.
