Donald Trump yesterday said that he would cut off all trade with Spain after Spanish President Pedro Sánchez refused permission for US forces to use jointly-owned air bases in Spain for air attacks on Iran.
“Spain has been terrible,” said Trump after 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.”
Mentioning Spain’s refusal last year to increase defence spending to 5% of GDP at his request, Trump went on to claim “All business to do with Spain, I have the right to stop it. Embargos… do anything I want with it.”
Sánchez’s decision underlines Spain’s position as one of the most outspoken countries in Europe against recent actions of the US and Israel. This morning, Sánchez said “The question is not whether or not we support the ayatollahs. Nobody does. Certainly not the Spanish people, and certainly not the Spanish government. The question, instead, is whether or not we stand on the side of international law and, therefore, on the side of peace.”
Sánchez´s position is likely to enjoy wide public support in Spain, but it has been strongly criticized by the opposition PP party, who described it as “frivolous”. The Confederation of Spanish Business Organizations (CEOE) has also called for Sánchez to “rethink” his stance.
