Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez has dismissed Trump’s threat to cut off all trade

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Wednesday doubled down on his criticism of US strikes against Iran, describing the escalating Middle East conflict as a “disaster”.

His comments came after US President Donald Trump pledged to cut trade with Madrid after Spain’s government blocked two bases it operates jointly on its territory from being used in strikes..

“Spain is terrible,” Trump said Tuesday at a White House news conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. “We’re going to cut off all trade with Spain. We don’t want anything to do with Spain,” he said.

In a televised address Wednesday morning, Sanchez said: “Big wars often start with a series of events that spiral out of control due to miscalculations, technical failures and unforeseen circumstances. Therefore, we must learn from history and cannot play Russian roulette with the future of millions,” according to a CNBC translation.

Sánchez warned of “repeating the mistakes of the past”, drawing comparisons with the invasion of Iraq in the early 2000s and summarizing the government’s position as “no war”.

Spain’s Socialist prime minister has emerged as one of the leading critics of US and Israeli attacks on Iran among EU nations’ leaders.

Trump’s latest comments follow a condemnation of Madrid’s refusal to meet the NATO defense spending target of 5% of GDP.

of Spain Ibex 35 The index led to losses among Europe’s major stocks in early trade. The index was down 0.8% at around 9 a.m. London time (4 a.m. ET), while the pan-European Stoxx 600 index gained 0.1%.

Trump’s threat to punish Spain over trade is challenging as the 27 EU nations negotiate trade deals together.

“It is naive to believe that democracy or respect among nations can arise from ruins, or to think that blind and servile obedience is a form of leadership. On the contrary, I believe this position is leadership,” said Sánchez.

“We don’t get complicit in something bad for the world and something that goes against our values ​​and interests for fear of retribution from someone,” he said.

— CNBC’s Charlotte Reid contributed to this report.