Spain will not succumb to U.S. pressure to support the U.S. and Israel’s war against Iran, Sánchez said today, directly responding to Trump’s threats to cut trade with Madrid.

“We will not adopt a position that goes against our values and principles out of fear of retaliation from others,” Sánchez declared in a televised address to the Spanish people.

He reiterated his opposition to attacks on Iran, warning that the conflict poses a “Russian roulette” risk to the lives of millions. “This is how great human catastrophes begin… You cannot play Russian roulette with the fate of millions,” he stressed.

The Spanish Prime Minister’s statements followed Trump’s threats yesterday, Tuesday, to cut trade relations between the two countries. The U.S. President’s reaction was linked to Madrid’s announcement on Monday that it would not allow its military bases (jointly used by the U.S. and Spain but under Spanish sovereignty) to be used for attacks on Iran.

“We will stop all trade of any kind with Spain,” Trump said during a White House meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. “We don’t want any relationship with Spain.”

Sánchez argued that Madrid’s position on the conflict with Iran is consistent with the country’s stance on other international crises, such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the war in Gaza.

Closing:
“We say no to the collapse of international law,” he said. “We say no to the idea that the world can solve its problems only through conflict and bombing. We say no to repeating the mistakes of the past… We say no to war,” declared the Spanish Prime Minister.

Sánchez also compared the U.S. attack on Iran with the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, which, he said, resulted only in misery and increased global instability.

He added that he cannot predict the exact consequences of “the fall of the terrible Ayatollah regime in Iran,” but he believes such an outcome will not lead to a fairer international order nor improve citizens’ living conditions.

“What we are seeing for now is more economic uncertainty, rising oil and gas prices,” he continued. “That is why in Spain we oppose this disaster, because we understand that governments exist to improve people’s lives, to provide solutions to their problems, not to make them worse.”