“They have wonderful people, but they lack great leadership,” said the president of the United States, referring to Pedro Sanchez.
By EFE (14ymedio)
HAVANA TIMES – US President Donald Trump lashed out this Tuesday at Spain over its stance on the war in Iran and threatened to impose an embargo and end all bilateral trade relations, asserting that his country “needs nothing” from Spain, which he described as a “terrible” ally.
The refusal of Pedro Sanchez’s government to authorize the use of the military bases in Rota (Cádiz) and Morón de la Frontera (Seville) for attacks on Iran has infuriated the Republican leader. During a meeting at the White House with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Trump said he wants to have “nothing to do with Spain.”
For its part, the Spanish government responded to Trump by stating that the US should fulfill its commitments to NATO and to European defense and warned that if he wants to review the bilateral relationship, he must respect international law and the agreements between the European Union and the United States.
In the same vein, the European Commission’s Trade spokesperson, Olof Gill, when asked about Trump’s remarks regarding Spain, said that the Commission trusts that the United States will respect its trade commitments and will ensure that “the interests of the European Union are fully protected.”
Seated next to Merz in the Oval Office, in his first remarks to the press since the start of “Operation Epic Fury” against Iran, Trump complained that Madrid has not been “friendly” toward the United States.
“I could stop everything related to Spain, all business related to Spain; I have the right to stop it. Embargoes. I’ll do whatever I want with them, and we could do it with Spain. We’re going to cut off all trade,” he said.
Trump then asked his Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, who was present in the Oval Office, about the possibility of imposing an embargo on Spain, and Bessent replied that the US Supreme Court “has reaffirmed the president’s authority” to implement this type of measure.
After the initial attacks on Tehran, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez rejected the joint military action by the United States and Israel in Iran, arguing that it “contributes to a more uncertain and hostile international order.”
Trump said Spain has absolutely nothing that the United States needs: “They have wonderful people, but they lack great leadership,” he said.
Sources within the Spanish government reacted to the Republican’s threats and emphasized that if the US administration wants to review the relationship between the United States and Spain, it must do so while respecting the autonomy of private companies, international law, and the bilateral agreements between the European Union and the United States.
Pedro Sanchez’s government also defended that Spain fulfills its commitments to NATO and to European defense.
For his part, the leader of the opposition Popular Party, Alberto Nuñez Feijoo, stated that Spain is “a reliable country, committed to freedom and to Western values,” and is “much more than its bad government.”
Trump’s remarks come after the Spanish government refused to allow its bases — which are Spanish-owned, although used by the United States — to be employed for operations that do not fall within the United Nations Charter.
“And now Spain has even said we couldn’t use their bases and so on. We could use their bases if we wanted. We could just fly in and use them. Nobody’s going to tell us we can’t use them,” the Republican said.
Spain’s Defense Minister Margarita Robles recalled on Monday that the agreement signed with Washington for the use of the bases allows operations within the framework of international law, but not when an army acts unilaterally.
For his part, Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares noted that Spain “has the final say” on this issue: “We are not going to lend our bases for anything that is not in the treaty or does not fit within the UN Charter.”
Before Trump’s statements, the government had said it considered it unlikely that its position would lead to any “consequences.”
Diplomatic tensions between the United States and Spain have also increased because Spain is the “only” NATO partner that has not committed to increasing its defense spending to 5% of its GDP — something Trump again criticized during the meeting.
“Some of the European nations have been very helpful, and others not at all,” Trump said today, adding that “some European countries, like Spain, have been terrible.”
For his part, Merz said he is trying to “convince” the Spanish government to commit to higher defense spending since, in his view, “this is part of the common security” of NATO members and “everyone must meet those figures.”
Published in Spanish by 14ymedio and translated and posted in English by Havana Times.
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