Spain denies U.S. claim of military cooperation on Iran as rift deepens

Spain on Wednesday (March 4, 2026) doubled down on its opposition to Washington’s use of its bases against Iran, after U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats of trade reprisals over the spat deepened a rift between the NATO allies.

Spain’s Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez defiantly repeated calls of “no to the war” on Wednesday (March 4, 2026) after the weekend U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran triggered the regional conflict, in his latest policy clash with Mr. Trump.

Just hours later, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Madrid had “agreed to cooperate with the US military”, without providing details on what the cooperation would entail.

But Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told Cadena SER radio shortly afterwards that “our position on the use of the bases, on the war in the Middle East, on the bombardment of Iran, has not changed at all”.

Mr. Trump had lashed out at Sanchez’s government on Tuesday, calling Spain a “terrible” ally and threatening to sever all trade with one of the world’s most dynamic developed economies.

Mr. Sanchez defended his position on Wednesday (March 4, 2026), saying his government’s position “can be summed up in four words: no to the war”.

“We will not be complicit in something that is harmful to the world and contrary to our values and interests, simply out of fear of retaliation,” he added in a televised address.

Spain is part of the European Union, which allows goods to move freely between its 27 countries. This would complicate any bid to impose trade restrictions on a single member state.

“Trump’s words don’t always become policy. We will have to see if he follows through, and how,” said Angel Saz Carranza, director of the Esade Center for Global Economy and Geopolitics, a Spanish think tank.

Iran praises Spain

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian commended Spain on X for its “responsible conduct in opposing the Zionist-American coalition’s flagrant human rights violations and military aggression against countries”.

French President Emmanuel Macron, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and European Council chief Antonio Costa were among the allies rallying around Mr. Sanchez on Wednesday.

“The EU will always ensure that the interests of its member states are fully protected,” Mr. Costa wrote on X.

Mr. Sanchez had already found himself in US crosshairs for refusing to join NATO allies in a pledge to boost defence spending to five percent of GDP as demanded by Trump.

He has also fiercely criticised Israel’s war in Gaza and the U.S. military operation in January that captured Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro.

U.S. forces use the Rota naval base and Moron air base in southern Spain under an agreement signed in 1953 under the dictatorship of General Francisco Franco.

During the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Spain, then led by conservative Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, staunchly backed the United States by sending troops.

Spain’s participation in the Iraq war sparked huge street demonstrations and many Spaniards blame it for the March 11, 2004 Madrid train bombings that killed nearly 200 people.

A branch of Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for the attacks and called for the withdrawal of Spanish forces from Iraq.