Less than 24 hours after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to cut off trade relations with Madrid over its refusal to let Washington use military bases on Spanish soil to attack Iran, White House Press Secretary Karoline Levitt claimed Spain had “agreed to cooperate with the U.S. military.”
Levitt said Madrid had heard Trump’s message “loud and clear” and was now coordinating action with Washington.
But Spanish Foreign Minister José Luis Albares rejected that claim.
“I categorically deny this,” Albares said in an interview on Spain’s Cadena Ser radio network. “Spain’s position on the war in the Middle East, on the attack on Iran, on the use of our bases, has not changed.”
Pressed over Leavitt’s assertion, Albares replied incredulously: “She might be the White House spokesperson, but I’m the foreign minister of Spain!”
The White House claim came hours after Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez delivered a televised address emphatically condemning the U.S. and Israel’s attack on Iran, in which he also affirmed Spain had said “no to war.”
Albares said Madrid’s commitment to staying out of “a military operation that is being carried out in violation of international law” is unwavering.
“There is an agreement, a bilateral accord, and outside the framework of that bilateral agreement, there will be no use of Spanish sovereign bases,” he insisted, referencing a 1953 agreement with the U.S. that gives Madrid a say over how American forces stationed on its territory are used. “Any operation must be within the framework of the United Nations.”
The foreign minister said he had no idea where Levitt had gotten her incorrect information, and boasted that the Spanish government had received messages of support from its European partners throughout the day.
Albares also said that Madrid had “nothing to fear” from the U.S. “What does a country that respects international law and seeks peace have to fear?”
He added that as a member of the European Union, Spain belongs to a trading bloc and cannot be singled out for individual economic sanctions.
“We have been a friend of the United States since its independence, and we are an important trading partner,” he said. “Our commitment is beyond question, but Spain is also a sovereign and independent country.”
While denying Levitt’s claims about a change in Spain’s position, Albares also took aim at German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who sat by in silence at the White House while Trump issued his threats against Spain on Tuesday.
“This government has interacted with three German chancellors — Chancellor [Angela] Merkel, Chancellor [Olaf] Scholz, Chancellor Merz — and I can’t imagine Merkel or Scholz standing by like this,” he said.
Albares added that Merz’s behavior also hadn’t reflected the values of Germany’s center-right Christian Democratic Union and its founder, Konrad Adenauer. “Nor the values of the European Union,” he concluded.
This article has been updated.
White House claims Spain has ‘agreed to cooperate’ on strikes. Spain says it hasn’t.
Source: Viral Showbiz Pinay
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