U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that the United States will “cut off all trade relations with Spain” after the Spanish government declined to support U.S. requests to use its military bases for operations against Iran.
Speaking from the Oval Office ahead of a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, his first foreign guest since hostilities involving Iran escalated, Trump criticised Spain’s position.
“Spain has behaved horribly and wants nothing to do with us,” he said, adding that Washington would respond by severing trade ties.
The comments came after the Spanish government refused to permit the United States to use the Naval Station Rota and Morón Air Base as staging grounds for attacks on Iran. Spanish officials described the proposed military action as an “unjustified and dangerous military intervention.”
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez condemned what he called “unilateral military action” by the United States and Israel, saying it would fuel a “more hostile and uncertain international order.”
Spain’s Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares clarified Madrid’s position, stressing that while Spain supports “democracy, freedom, and fundamental rights for the Iranian people,” its military installations would not be made available for the current conflict.
“The bases are not being used — and will not be used — for anything not provided for in the agreement [with the U.S.], nor for anything not covered by the United Nations Charter,” Albares said.
Following Spain’s refusal, some U.S. aircraft previously stationed at Spanish bases have been relocated to other locations, underscoring a growing divergence between Washington’s and Madrid’s approaches to military engagement in the region.
Trump’s announcement of a trade cutoff marks a sharp escalation in diplomatic tensions between the United States and one of its longstanding European partners, signalling potential economic consequences ahead if the standoff over military cooperation persists.
