Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez hit back on Wednesday at US President Donald Trump’s criticisms of Madrid’s refusal to let US planes use its bases to attack Iran. “The position of the government of Spain can be summed up in four words: no to war,” he said in a televised address, a day after Trump threatened to sever all trade with Spain. He also pointed to Sanchez’s refusal to join Nato allies in a pledge to boost defense spending to five percent of GDP as demanded by Trump, who has frequently argued that the United States shoulders too much of the alliance’s burden. Sanchez’s leftist government has angered Washington with a series of other policies, including his staunch opposition to Israel’s war in Gaza and the military operation to abduct and arrest President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela. During the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Spain, then led by conservative prime minister Jose Maria Aznar, staunchly backed the United States.

Source: Dhaka Tribune March 04, 2026 09:15 UTC