The US plans to completely sever trade relations with Spain after the country did not allow the use of its bases for strikes on Iran, stated US President Donald Trump.
Discussing the involvement of European countries in the Middle East war, Trump noted that some of them were "magnificent" and helped the US, while others were "terrible," as quoted by Meduza.
He also recalled that Madrid refused to increase military spending to 5% of GDP. "They were the only country in NATO that did not agree to raise spending to 5%. I don’t think they would agree to raise it to any level at all. They wanted to keep it at 2%, and even then they don’t pay 2%," Trump said during a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the White House.
"Therefore, we are going to stop all trade with Spain. We don’t want to have anything to do with Spain," the US leader said. He added that he was also "unhappy with the UK," which also did not help in the US-Israeli strikes on Iran. "We are not dealing with Winston Churchill," he noted, referring to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
At the same time, according to Trump, the US could still use Spain's bases, "if they wanted to." "Spain has effectively stated that we cannot use their bases. We don’t want to. We could use their base if we wanted to. We could just fly in and use it. No one is going to tell us not to use it, but we don’t need it," the US president stated.
Spain and the US jointly operate military airbases in Morón and Rota, which are located in southern Spain and under the country's jurisdiction. Spanish authorities have stated that these bases will not be used for strikes on Iran. After that, US aviation moved to Germany, Reuters reported. At the same time, sources from the Spanish press reported that military personnel, ships, and aircraft permanently based in Spain are participating in the war between Israel and the US against Iran.
British authorities, as reported by The Times, did not allow the US to use bases in Fairford, Gloucestershire, England, and on Diego Garcia Island in the Indian Ocean for strikes on Iran. According to the publication, the White House was developing a plan for a strike on Iran that involved the use of these bases.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer explained that the decision not to participate in strikes on Iran was a deliberate one, as London believes it is right to resolve the situation through diplomatic means. According to The Times, British authorities feared that they, along with the US, would be accused of violating international law.
Leave a comment