MADRID (AP) \u2014 A diplomatic tussle between the United States and Spain over\u00a0the war in Iran\u00a0intensified on Wednesday when the governments exchanged contradictory statements over the possible use of Spanish military bases by American armed forces for operations in the Middle East.<\/p>\n
Moments after a White House spokesperson said the Spanish government in Madrid had agreed to help the U.S., Spanish Foreign Minister Jos\u00e9 Manuel Albares came out and flatly denied that the European government had changed its position.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can refute (the White House spokesperson),\u201d Albares told Spanish radio station Cadena Ser. \u201cThe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
The disagreement broke out on Tuesday when Trump said that he was going to \u201c\u00a0cut off all trade with Spain,\u201d a day after Albares said that his government wouldn\u2019t allow the U.S. to use jointly operated bases in southern Spain in any strikes not covered by the U.N. charter. Spanish Prime Minister\u00a0Pedro S\u00e1nchez said that his government wouldn\u2019t \u201cbe complicit in something that is bad for the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Albares denied that his government had reconsidered its posture on the use of the bases on Wednesday evening in Madrid shortly after White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt had said \u201cwith respect to Spain, I think they heard the president\u2019s message yesterday loud and clear.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd it\u2019s my understanding over the past several hours, they\u2019ve agreed to cooperate with the U.S. military,” Leavitt had said. “And so I know that the U.S. military is coordinating with their counterparts in Spain.\u201d<\/p>\n
S\u00e1nchez, widely regarded as Europe\u2019s last major progressive leader, has called the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran an \u201cunjustifiable\u201d and \u201cdangerous\u201d military intervention.<\/p>\n
S\u00e1nchez again criticized the U.S. and Israel’s military actions in Iran early on Wednesday when he made a nationally televised address. While not mentioning Trump by name, S\u00e1nchez stood firm against trade threats from Washington and warning that the\u00a0war in the Middle East risked \u201cplaying Russian roulette\u201d with millions of lives.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are not going to be complicit in something that is bad for the world and is also contrary to our values \u200b\u200band interests, just out of fear of reprisals from someone,\u201d S\u00e1nchez said.<\/p>\n
S\u00e1nchez expressed concern that the attacks on Iran could lead to another costly military quagmire in the Middle East, similar to the past American interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn short, the position of the government of Spain can be summarized in four words,\u201d S\u00e1nchez said. \u201cNo to the war.\u201d<\/p>\n
After Spain denied U.S. use of its bases, Trump on Tuesday said \u201cwe could use their base if we want,\u201d referencing the Rota and Mor\u00f3n installations in southern Spain that the U.S. and Spain share, but which remain under Spanish command.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe could just fly in and use it,\u201d Trump said. \u201cNobody\u2019s going to tell us not to use it, but we don\u2019t have to.\u201d<\/p>\n
It wasn’t clear how Trump would have cut off trade with Spain, which is a member of the European Union. The EU negotiates trade on behalf of all its 27 member states.<\/p>\n
When asked in an interview with CNBC whether a trade embargo with Spain would be possible, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that Wednesday \u201cit would be a combination effort.” He didn’t explain further, but said Spain’s refusal to allow the U.S. to use its bases in the weekend attack on Iran endangered American lives.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything that slows down our ability to engage and prosecute this war in the fastest, most effective manner puts American lives at risk,\u201d Bessent said. \u201cThe Spanish put American lives at risk.\u201d<\/p>\n
The EU said that it would protect its interests and work to stabilize its trade relationship with the U.S, with which it\u00a0struck a trade deal\u00a0last year after months of economic uncertainty over Trump\u2019s tariff blitz.<\/p>\n
Tuesday’s threats from Washington were just the latest instance of the U.S. president wielding the threat of tariffs or trade embargoes as punishment. Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down\u00a0Trump\u2019s far-reaching global tariffs, saying emergency powers don’t allow the president to unilaterally impose sweeping tariffs.<\/p>\n
However, Trump maintains that the court allows him to instead impose full-scale embargoes on other nations of his choosing.<\/p>\n
Spain’s main business groups expressed concerns over the trade threat, calling the U.S. a \u201ckey partner from an economic and political standpoint.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe trust that our trade relations will ultimately not be affected in any way,\u201d the Spanish business chambers CEOE, CEPYME and ATA said Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Last year, Spain’s central bank issued a report that concluded Europe’s fourth-largest economy was relatively cushioned compared with the EU average when it came to exposure to tariffs by Trump.<\/p>\n
Spain\u2019s exports and imports with the U.S. accounted for 4.4% of gross domestic product, the Bank of Spain said, while trade with the U.S. for the EU as a whole was 10.1%.<\/p>\n
Exports of Spanish goods to the U.S. accounted for 1% of Spain’s GDP, or 16 billion euros ($18.6 billion), the bank said, making it Spain\u2019s sixth largest export market for goods. Pharmaceutical products, olive oil, refined gas and electrical transformers are among Spain’s main exports to the U.S., according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity.<\/p>\n
Spain\u2019s position on the Iran conflict is the latest flare-up in its relationship with the Trump administration.<\/p>\n
S\u00e1nchez was an outspoken critic of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and attracted Trump’s ire last year when Spain\u00a0backed out of NATO\u2019s pledge\u00a0to increase defense spending by members to 5% of GDP.<\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
Joseph Wilson reported from Barcelona, Spain, and Aamer Madhani from Washington. Sam McNeil contributed to this report from Brussels.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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