Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent claimed Wednesday that Madrid “put American lives at risk” when it halted the U.S. from using jointly operated military bases in Spain to launch attacks against Iran.
President Donald Trump said Tuesday he wants to “cut off” all trade with Spain in response to the country’s refusal to allow the U.S. to utilize the jointly-run bases. Bessent also said during an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that the president’s frustration with Spain “is justified.”
“President Trump’s frustration with the Spanish government is justified, that first of all, they have been terrible actors,” Bessent said. “They are the only NATO member not meeting their NATO requirement. That’s known as a free rider.”
“And then it was unacceptable over the weekend that the Spanish were highly uncooperative regarding the U.S. bases and what we could do with our planes as we began executing on Operation Epic Fury,” he added.
Bessent also told CNBC that “anything that slows down our ability to engage and prosecute this war in the fastest, most effective manner puts American lives at risk,” adding “the Spanish put American lives at risk.”
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Wednesday publicly criticized the U.S. and Israel’s recent military strikesagainst Iran, claiming that the ongoing conflict in the Middle East could result in “playing Russian roulette” with millions of people’s lives, The Associated Press (AP) reported.
“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 during a televised speech, the AP reported.
“In short, the position of the government of Spain can be summarized in four words,” he added. “No to the war,” according to the outlet.
Sánchez wrote in a Wednesday X post that “the world, Europe, and Spain have faced this critical moment before,” adding that “in 2003, a few irresponsible leaders dragged us into an illegal war in the Middle East that brought nothing but insecurity and pain.”
“Our response then must be our response now: NO to violations of international law. NO to the illusion that we can solve the world’s problems with bombs. NO to repeating the mistakes of the past. NO TO WAR,” Sánchez continued.
In 2022, U.S. exports of goods and services to Spain totaled $35.3 billion, up 56.3% from 2021, the International Trade Administration reported in July 2024, citing Department of Commerce data.
The Treasury Department and Sánchez’s office each did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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