Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has been one of the most vocal opponents of the US and Israeli attacks on Iran, describing them as reckless and illegal.
In a pushback against the US amid the ongoing war, Spain has closed its airspace to American aircraft involved in military operations against Iran. “We don’t authorise either the use of military bases or the use of airspace for actions related to the war in Iran,” Defence Minister Margarita Robles was quoted as saying by Reuters.
It’s a step beyond its previous denial of use of jointly-operated military bases. “This was made perfectly clear to the American military and forces from the very beginning. Therefore, neither the bases are authorized, nor, of course, is the use of Spanish airspace authorized for any actions related to the war in Iran,” Robles was quoted as saying by the Associated Media citing Spanish media.
War in Iran ‘illegal and unjust’
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has been one of the most vocal opponents of the US and Israeli attacks on Iran, describing them as reckless and illegal. Reiterating Sanchez’s stance, Robles said, “I think everyone knows Spain’s position; it’s very clear,” Robles said, calling the war in Iran “profoundly illegal and profoundly unjust.”
Spanish newspaper El Pais, which reported the news first on Monday, said the closure of airspace
military planes to bypass NATO member Spain en route to their targets in the Middle East, but it does not include emergency situations.
When asked whether the decision could worsen the ties with the US, Spain’s Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo said in an interview with radio Cadena Ser, “This decision is part of the decision already made by the Spanish government not to participate in or contribute to a war which was initiated unilaterally and against international law.”
Earlier, US President Donald Trump had threatened to slash trade with Spain for denying the American use of its bases in the war.
Sanchez defiant against US
Sanchez has been unabashed in his defiance against Trump’s foreign policy stances even outside West Asia. A fortnight ago, Sanchez said that the US-Israel-Iran war was a “unilateral war started by two nations” which would “bring an erosion of our welfare state and the middle and working class”.
Sanchez, who is touted as Europe’s last major progressive leader, had even rejected Trump’s demand last year of NATO members increasing defence budgets to 5% of their GDP. The Spanish Prime Minister, who is running his third consecutive term, had also questioned the validity of the US’ capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro this January and the subsequent legal proceedings the US initiated against him.
Apart from that, opposing Trump in imposing global tariffs, Sanchez had tried to project economic sovereignty even as other European nations scrambled to secure exemptions from the US. While rejecting Trump’s tariffs, Sanchez did not show any haste in dispatching trade envoys to Washington, DC. With his latest rebukes against Trump, Sanchez has positioned Spain as the primary thought leader of the European progressive resistance to the war in West Asia.
Notably, Sanchez is actually on a political gamble aimed at survival, as he runs the a coalition government with Left parties. Sanchez, who eyes the polls next year, is absorbing the fragmented Spanish left while cornering the right on the US’s hostile stance towards Spain.
Sanchez wants to ensure that the government does not face the prospect of internal collapse, despite persistent tensions over Spain’s ongoing domestic housing crises or probes into alleged corruption against his administration.
