WEB DESK: President Donald Trump has ordered a complete halt to all trade with Spain, unleashing a furious tirade against the Spanish government for refusing to allow the US to use its military bases for strikes on Iran .
During an Oval Office meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Tuesday, Trump launched into an extended critique of Spain, calling the nation a “terrible” ally and accusing it of being “very, very uncooperative” . The president’s anger was directed at two primary grievances: Madrid’s veto on the use of the Rota and Morón air bases for US operations in the Middle East and its longstanding resistance to Trump’s demands for NATO members to dramatically increase defense spending .
“In fact, I told Scott [Bessent] to cut off all dealings with Spain,” Trump told reporters, referring to his Treasury Secretary. “We’re going to cut off all trade with Spain. We don’t want anything to do with Spain” .
The president was particularly incensed by Spain’s refusal to grant access to the bases, which are joint-use facilities under Spanish sovereignty . Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s government had deemed the US and Israeli attacks on Iran an “unjustified, dangerous military intervention” in violation of international law and barred their use for the operation .
Trump dismissed the Spanish position with characteristic defiance, suggesting US military power could simply ignore the ban. “And now Spain actually said that we can’t use their bases, and that’s alright, 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,” he said .
