Spain denies support to Washington amid trade threats as France urges talks
Days into the US and Israel’s joint military strike on Iran, leaders from several major European nations have expressed their disagreements, if not objections, to the unilateral move.
“A logic of violence, as we are seeing, only leads to a spiral of violence, and unilateral military actions outside the United Nations Charter, outside any collective action, have no clear objective. Europe must defend international law, de-escalation, and negotiation,” Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares Bueno said on Monday, as his government refused to allow its military bases, which are operated jointly with the US but under Spanish sovereignty, to be used for attacks on Iran.
Spain is a US ally that openly condemned the latter’s strikes against Iran, as Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Saturday called it “unilateral military action”, as well as an “unjustified” and “dangerous military intervention” outside the bounds of international law.
On Monday, flight tracking website Flightradar24 showed that 15 US aircraft had already left the Rota and Moron military bases in southern Spain since the attacks were launched. They were relocated to other bases.
US President Donald Trump threatened to impose a full US trade embargo on Spain on Tuesday in response to the refusal.
“Spain has been terrible,” Trump told reporters during a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. “We’re going to cut off all trade with Spain. We don’t want anything to do with Spain.”
Sanchez on Wednesday doubled down on his opposition to the attack on Iran by the US and Israel, warning that the conflict risked triggering a major global disaster.
“We’re not going to be complicit in something that’s bad for the world, nor contrary to our values and interests simply to avoid reprisals from someone,” Sanchez said in a televised address to the nation.
Sanchez said governments existed to improve people’s lives and lashed out at leaders who “use the fog of war to hide their failure” at home.
The European Commission also defended its interests, by saying on Wednesday it was “ready” to defend EU interests after Trump threatened to sever trade with Spain.
“We stand in full solidarity with all member states and all their citizens and, through our common trade policy, stand ready to act if necessary to safeguard EU interests,” said commission spokesman Olof Gill in a statement issued in response to the threats.
In Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron said in a television address to the nation on Tuesday,”The United States of America and Israel decided to launch military operations. They were carried out outside the framework of international law, which we cannot approve.”
He reiterated his call for an end to airstrikes and the resumption of diplomatic negotiations aimed at achieving long-term stability.
He also released clips of the address via X, where he also wrote,”We stand with our friends and allies in the region to ensure their security and territorial integrity. This is our responsibility.”
Macron also confirmed that the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, which was in Sweden for military exercises, is being dispatched to the Mediterranean Sea.
United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer has ruled out British participation in offensive military action, insisting UK forces will not be drawn into what he described as “unlawful action”.
‘Deliberate’ decision
In a Parliament session on Monday, Starmer said the government made a “deliberate” decision not to be involved in the initial strikes on Iran by the US and Israel, as “the best way forward for the region and for the world is a negotiated settlement”.
“I will not commit our military personnel to unlawful action,” Starmer told lawmakers. “President Trump has expressed his disagreement with our decision not to get involved in the initial strikes, but it is my duty to judge what is in Britain’s national interest,” he said, adding that the use of British bases is limited to defensive purposes.
Trump criticized Starmer for blocking the US air force from using Diego Garcia, the military base in the British territory of the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean, which has been leased to the US since the 1960s, for the initial military strikes.
Contact the writers at zhangzhouxiang@chinadaily.com.cn