Pedro Sánchez Defies Washington To Win Spain
March 4, 2026
EurActiv
By Inés Fernández-Pontes
(EurActiv) — Spain’s decision to bar the United States from using its strategically vital bases at Rota and Morón to support strikes on Iran has ignited fierce domestic backlash and raised wider questions about Madrid’s standing in Europe and its reliability within NATO.
The move, framed by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez as a defence of international law, underscores Spain’s increasingly distinctive foreign-policy posture at a moment when Atlantic unity is under strain. Long a dependable – if sometimes reluctant – pillar of the alliance’s southern flank, Spain now risks appearing as an outlier as several European partners adopt a more cautious line towards Washington’s actions.
For decades, the naval base at Rota and the air base at Morón have symbolised Spain’s integration into the transatlantic security architecture. Rota hosts around 6,000 US personnel and several Aegis destroyers central to NATO’s missile-defence system. Together, the bases serve as crucial transit and refuelling hubs for operations in the Mediterranean, the Gulf and beyond.
By refusing authorisation for US tanker aircraft to operate from Spanish soil for the current mission – and by describing the strikes as “unilateral” – Sánchez has inserted Spain directly into a broader debate over the legality and legitimacy of Western military action in the Middle East.
Diplomatic ties between Madrid and Washington are already strained. Sánchez has emerged as one of the European Union’s most vocal critics of Donald Trump, condemning US and Israeli actions in Iran and Venezuela as breaches of international law. Over the past year, his government has imposed a total arms embargo on Israel, resisted calls to increase defence spending to NATO targets, and tightened oversight of US activities at the southern bases.
Trump weighs in
Whether the episode amounts to a lasting rupture remains unclear. Under the 1988 bilateral agreement governing the installations – which remain under Spanish sovereignty – any use beyond routine activities requires prior government approval. Analysts note that the United States is unlikely to relinquish facilities whose geographic position at the gateway to the Mediterranean is difficult to replicate.
Yet politically, the signal is unmistakable. At a time when NATO is seeking cohesion amid multiple crises – from Ukraine to the Gulf – Spain’s stance reinforces perceptions that Sánchez is prioritising domestic political consolidation over alliance solidarity, potentially complicating Madrid’s influence within Europe’s security architecture.
The repercussions for Spain’s relationship with Washington became clear late Tuesday in the Oval Office, where Trump left little doubt over his frustration with Madrid’s move as he threatened to cut trade ties with Spain.
“Spain doesn’t have great leadership,” he said. “We want nothing to do with Spain.”
The US president also signalled that if he wanted to use the Spanish bases, he would.
“Spain actually said that we can’t use their bases… which we could use if we wanted to,” he said. “We could fly in and use it, no one is going to tell us not to use it.”
Spanish sovereignty
Under the 1988 agreement, which rules the bases both under Spanish sovereignty, any use of the Rota and Morón bases beyond bilateral training exercises or maintenance requires prior authorisation from the Spanish government.
For decades, the bases have served as key US transit hubs for troops, equipment and fuel bound for the Middle East and Gulf. Rota – about 150 km from Gibraltar – is Europe’s largest US naval base, hosting 6,000 personnel and five destroyers central to NATO’s missile defence.
Spain “has never routinely monitored or supervised the use of these military bases” as it does now under Sánchez’ government, Félix Arteaga, a senior analyst at Spain’s Real Instituto Elcano told Euractiv.
Domestic troubles
In Madrid, Sánchez’s foreign policy stance is widely read through a domestic lens. Arteaga argues the ban on US base operations fits the broader strategy of Sánchez’s Socialist Party (PSOE) to cast the prime minister as the European leader “standing up to Trump”.
“Sánchez’s staunch opposition to the US president helps him consolidate a left-wing electorate within the PSOE,” Arteaga said, noting that this base has traditionally opposed US military presence and higher defence spending.
The PSOE-led government is under pressure after electoral setbacks in the past regional elections and corruption probes targeting the PM’s inner circle while far-left allies Podemos and Sumar have urged a tougher line on Washington and Israel.
Following the joint US-Israeli strike on Tehran last weekend, Podemos leader Ione Belarra demanded clarity over Rota’s role, and Sumar’s Lara Hernández denounced the EU’s response as “shameful”.
Meanwhile, the opposition conservative Popular Party accused Sánchez of “isolationism”. “Something is wrong when Hamas, the Houthis or the Iranian regime applaud the Sánchez government,” spokesperson Carmen Fúnez said.
Arteaga warned that while the stance may shore up domestic support ahead of the highly anticipated general elections next year, it risks distancing Spain from European consensus and deepening international isolation.
“From a foreign policy perspective, Sánchez’s stance is a disaster, but he benefits most from it domestically,” a veteran Spanish diplomat told Euractiv.
A country with a “serious” foreign policy would have followed the French and British, the diplomat said, explaining that Spain’s foreign policy is “highly dysfunctional” because there is no internal consensus within the coalition on the most basic issues.
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