Madrid has rejected a request from United States President Donald\nTrump to use Spanish bases to attack Iran, with Spanish Prime Minister\nPedro S\u00e1nchez stating that his country will not become involved in\nMiddle East military action. In a televised national address on\nWednesday, 4 March 2026, S\u00e1nchez emphasised that Spain\u2019s policy is\nclear: no to war. The left-wing leader asserted that Spain\u2019s position\nreflects a broad international desire to avoid further conflict that\ncould destabilise the global economy and security order. The tensions\nfollowed Trump\u2019s threat to sever all trade ties with Spain in response\nto Madrid\u2019s refusal to permit US fighter aircraft to operate from\nSpanish bases.<\/p>\n
S\u00e1nchez insisted that Spain would not bow to economic intimidation to\nsupport policies deemed harmful to global stability, saying: \u201cWe will\nnot be a mouthpiece for something dangerous for the world that runs\ncontrary to our values and interests, merely for fear of retaliation.\u201d\nHe added that his refusal to back the war plan is supported by broad\nglobal public opinion and mirrors the wishes of many governments and\nmillions of citizens across Europe, North America, and the Middle East\nwho do not want more war or more uncertainty tomorrow.<\/p>\n
Trump, for his part, accused Spain of being an unreliable ally during\na White House meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and pressed\non the issue of Nato defence spending, claiming S\u00e1nchez has failed to\nmeet NATO\u2019s pledge to raise defence expenditure to five percent of GDP.\nThe feud adds to existing disagreements over Spain\u2019s stance on Israel\u2019s\nwar in Gaza and US-led operations against Nicol\u00e1s Maduro\u2019s Venezuela\nregime.<\/p>\n
As background, US forces currently use the naval base at Rota and the\nair base at Mor\u00f3n in Spain, bases with a long history of use, including\nduring the 2003 invasion of Iraq under the government of Jos\u00e9 Mar\u00eda\nAznar.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/this-nato-leader-rejects-u-s-help-lectures-trump-on-action-in-iran-1772633734", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }