The socialist government of Spain has ridiculed peace efforts from the United States in Iran, accusing the Trump administration of having having made the Middle East unstable in the first place.
Shortly before his Tuesday evening deadline, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the remnants of the Islamist regime in Tehran had agreed to a ceasefire and open the Strait for two weeks while negotiators attempt a long-term peace deal.
While much of the world’s media and political class had spent the day spreading apocalyptic warnings that President Trump was planning on annihilating the Iranian people — despite having consistently advocated for their liberty — many were also quick to deride the attempts by the White House to avoid further bloodshed.
Among critics was Spain’s Socialist Party Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who said that his government will “not applaud those who set the world on fire just because they show up with a bucket.”
“Ceasefires are always good news. Especially if they lead to a just and lasting peace. But this momentary relief cannot make us forget the chaos, the destruction, and the lives lost,” he added.
“What’s needed now: diplomacy, international legality, and PEACE,” the Spanish leader concluded.
Since the outset of the conflict, Sánchez, perhaps in a bid to distract from his myriad domestic scandals, has sought to cast himself as President Trump’s arch-opponent in Europe.
Under the socialist PM’s direction, Madrid refused to grant the United States access to its military bases from the opening weekend of the war, forcing American Air Force assets to leave the country and relocate to other bases in Europe.
Sánchez later escalated further, going so far as to bar U.S. planes from flying through its airspace en route to the Middle East.
In response, President Trump has threatened to impose a full trade embargo on Spanish goods, saying that the country has “absolutely nothing” that the United States needs.
Tensions between Spain and the United States over defence have been longstanding, with leftist governments in Madrid chronically refusing to pay their full NATO dues.
Last year, Spain became the only European NATO ally to refuse to increase defence spending to five per cent of GDP, after having failed for years to meet the two per cent minimum, drawing rebuke from fellow EU nations such as Germany.
Despite his derisive comments, Sánchez joined fellow European leaders in hailing the ceasefire, including French President Macron, Italian Prime Minister Meloni, German Chancellor Merz, UK Prime Minister Starmer, Canadian Prime Minister Carney, Danish Prime Minister Frederiksen, Dutch Prime Minister Jetten, President of the European Commission von der Leyen, and President of the European Council Costa.
In a joint statement issued on Wednesday, they said: “We welcome the two-week ceasefire concluded between the United States and Iran today.”
“The goal must now be to negotiate a swift and lasting end to the war within the coming days. This can only be achieved through diplomatic means,” they said, adding: “We strongly encourage quick progress towards a substantive negotiated settlement.”
They stressed the importance of preventing a global energy crisis and, to that end, said that their governments will “contribute to ensuring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.”
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