Spain Denies White House Assertion That It’s Assisting Trump With War in Iran

Spain is denying an assertion made by the White House Wednesday that it is cooperating with the U.S. as part of its war with Iran.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during her Wednesday afternoon briefing that the European nation had “agreed to cooperate with the U.S. military” — but shortly after, a top Spanish official denied the statement and said that the country’s position had not changed.

“The position of the Spanish government regarding the war in the Middle East, the bombing of Iran and the use of our bases has not changed one iota,” Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares told a Spanish radio station on Wednesday.

The back-and-forth highlighted the deepening split between President Donald Trump and U.S. allies in Europe over the conflict, which broke out early Saturday morning when the president ordered the wide-scale bombing of Iran.

After Albares said Spain would not allow the U.S. to use jointly operated bases for strikes not covered by the U.N. charter earlier this week, Trump made threats to cut off trade with the country entirely.

“Spain has been terrible,” Trump said during a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Tuesday. “We’re going to cut off all trade with Spain. We don’t want anything to do with Spain.”

Trump also said Tuesday that “we could use their base if we want. We could just fly in and use it. Nobody’s going to tell us not to use it, but we don’t have to.”

Leavitt said during Wednesday’s White House press briefing that Spain had “heard the president’s message yesterday loud and clear” — but it remains unclear what, if anything, Leavitt was referring to.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has also criticized the actions of the U.S. and Israel in the Middle East.

“We are not going to be complicit in something that is bad for the world and is also contrary to our values and interests, just out of fear of reprisals from someone,” Sánchez said in a televised address.