Spain’s Red Light on Base Permission Leaves Trump Fuming
Spain has refused to allow the United States to use its bases to strike Iran. The ‘red light’ from Madrid prompted President Donald Trump to react angrily. According to Politico on Tuesday, Spanish Defence Minister Margarita Robles said the United States pulled its military aircraft from bases in Spain after Madrid barred the use of those bases to attack Iran.
In a press conference at Armilla Air Base on Monday, Robles stressed that missions involving bases on Spanish soil must operate within international law. She added that military installations in Spain would be prohibited from providing support unless humanitarian considerations require it.
FlightRadar24 tracked more than a dozen US military aircraft, including Boeing KC-135 aerial refuelling tankers, leaving Morón de la Frontera and Rota over the weekend. Seven US military aircraft were detected as having been moved to Ramstein Air Base in Germany.
Robles said the US was likely taking these steps because it knew the aircraft could not operate from Spanish territory. The 1953 treaty between Spain and the US gives Madrid the right to determine how American troops stationed there are used. Robles emphasised that bases in Spain did not participate in the attack on Iran on Saturday and would not be used for ‘operations, maintenance and support’.
She added that Spain’s policy on base usage does not reflect support for the Iranian regime, which she described as ‘horrific and dictatorial’.
PM Sanchez condemned the US attack on Iran. Sanchez, unlike many EU leaders, criticised Washington and Tel Aviv’s strikes, calling them a violation of international law. Anadolu Agency reported that the prime minister warned such an attack would lead to ‘an international order that is more uncertain and hostile’.
Spain also condemned Iran’s retaliatory strikes against Gulf states hosting US military assets.
Trump Grumbles
Trump threatened to cut trade after Spain barred US aircraft from using its bases to attack Iran. Spain also objected to increases in defence funding as part of NATO.
“Spain is very bad,” Trump told reporters at a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. “We will cut all trade with Spain. We do not want to have anything to do with Spain,” he said, according to Al Arabiya and AFP, on Wednesday (4/3).
PM Sanchez Responds: No to the War
PM Pedro Sánchez replied to Trump’s outburst with a four-word summary: “No to the war.” He said in a televised address that “the position of the Spanish government can be summed up in four words: no to the war” and added: “We will not be involved in something that harms the world and goes against our values and interests, simply because we fear retaliation. We oppose this disaster,” Sánchez stated, noting that his stance was supported by “many governments and millions of people across Europe, North America and the Middle East who do not want more wars or more uncertainty in the future”.