Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has reiterated his “no to war” stance, rebutting United States President Donald Trump's threat to end trade with Spain. He has restated that the war on Iran by the US and Israel is a “breakdown of international law”, while he addressed the nation in a 10-minute televised address.
Sanchez did not directly refer to Trump's trade-embargo threats, but said that his government was studying the economic measures to counter the impact of the conflict on Spaniards.
“The question is not if we are on the side of the Ayatollah's — nobody is,” he said, “The question is whether we are in favour of peace and international legality,”
Also Read: West Asia War: Spain Disallows Use Of Air Bases For Iran Attack, 15 US Aircraft Leave
Sanchez said that you cannot answer “one legality with another” because that is how the great catastrophes of humanity begin. He explained that his government's position was comparable to its stance on Ukraine and Gaza.
Spain, on Monday, refused to allow the United States to use its bases at Moron and Rotofar to strike Iran, despite the bases being jointly run by the two countries. Following the Spanish decision, the US took their aircraft out of the country and into Germany.
Soon after this, Trump said, “Spain has been terrible” during a meeting with the German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, on Tuesday. He (Trump) threatened to impose a full trade embargo on Spain.
“We are going to cut off all trade with Spain. We do not want anything to do with Spain,” Trump added. The BBC reported that Merz later told Trump “very clearly” that a separate agreement with Germany or all of Europe was not possible without Spain.
Elysee Palace said that the French President Emanuel Macron has conveyed his “solidarity” with Spain, during a phone call with Sanchez on Wednesday. European Council President, Antonio Costa, has also conveyed “the EU's full solidarity” to Sanchez, following Trump's threats.
The socialist Prime Minister of Spain has been a vociferous critic of Israel's military response to the Hamas attacks in 2023. In his address on Wednesday, Sanchez spoke about the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, as well as in Iraq, and said that the Spanish government's position could be summed up as “no to war”.
Also Read:Iran Denies Claims Of Peace Talks; Had No Choice But To Attack Gulf Nations, Says Iranian President
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