On March 4, Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez delivered a televised address to the nation on “recent international events”. Days earlier, when his government had announced it will not allow the U.S. to use their military bases in Spain for strikes on Iran, President Donald Trump had reacted angrily, saying, “We’re going to cut off all trade with Spain. We don’t want anything to do with Spain.”
As the conservative Opposition leaders accused Mr. Sanchez, leader of the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE), of jeopardising Spain’s relations with the U.S. for petty political gains, he doubled down. In a 10-minute speech that resonated across Europe, Mr. Sanchez characterised the war on Iran as a violation of international law, becoming the only European head of government to publicly reject the war on principle.
