Spain was firm in telling the US to remove military personnel and aircraft from its two military bases in Rota and Morón over the Iran war. Concerns were that Iran could attack US bases in Europe, as it is already doing in the Middle East. While Donald Trump slammed the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, threatening to remove trade, Spain is not backing down.
On Wednesday, a diplomatic tussle between the US and Spain over the Iran war continued after the US said the Spanish government had agreed to the use of the military basis. However, Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares flatly denies that the government had changed its position.
“I can refute (the White House spokesperson),” Albares told Spanish radio station Cadena Ser. “The position of the Spanish government regarding the war in the Middle East, the bombing of Iran and the use of our bases has not changed one iota.”
Spain’s PM Pedro Sanchez has condemned the US-Israel war on Iran as a breach of international law, emerging as one of the sole Western leaders to denounce the attacks. pic.twitter.com/R6h2rn25YX
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) March 2, 2026
As reported by Reuters, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said on Tuesday his government would not allow the US to use the military bases in the country in any strikes not covered by the UN charter. Sánchez added that the country would not “be complicit in something that is bad for the world.” Moreover, he called on the US to remove its personnel and aircraft from the Spanish bases.
After this, Trump announced, “Spain has been terrible,” adding, “Spain actually said that we can’t use their bases.”
“We are going to cut off all trade with Spain. We don’t want anything to do with Spain,” he added at the time.
Meanwhile, On Wednesday evening in Madrid, Albares denied that the Spanish government had reconsidered its stance on the use of the bases. This came after White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “with respect to Spain, I think they heard the president’s message yesterday loud and clear.”
“And it’s my understanding over the past several hours, they’ve agreed to cooperate with the US military,” Leavitt had said. “And so I know that the US military is coordinating with their counterparts in Spain.”
Meanwhile, the Spanish government would not back down after making its stance clear to Trump. Sánchez, widely regarded as Europe’s last major progressive leader, has called the US and Israeli strikes on Iran an “unjustifiable” and “dangerous” military intervention.
Early on Wednesday, Sánchez again criticized the military actions in Iran in a nationally televised address. While he did not mention Trump by name, Sánchez stood firm against trade threats from Washington, while warning that the war in the Middle East risked “playing Russian roulette” with millions of lives.
“We are not going to be complicit in something that is bad for the world and is also contrary to our values and interests, just out of fear of reprisals from someone,” Sánchez said.
The Spanish Prime Minister expressed concern that the attacks on Iran could lead to another costly military nightmare in the Middle East, similar to the past US interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq.
“In short, the position of the government of Spain can be summarized in four words,” Sánchez said. “No to the war.”
On Tuesday, after Spain denied use of its bases, Trump said, “we could use their base if we want,” referring to the Rota and Morón installations in southern Spain that the US and Spain share, but which remain under Spanish command.
“We could just fly in and use it,” Trump continued. “Nobody’s going to tell us not to use it, but we don’t have to.”
