President of the United States, Donald Trump, has declared that Washington will sever all ties with Spain after the NATO ally declined to authorize the use of its military bases in southern Spain for potential operations against Iran.
Speaking during a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Trump told reporters that Spain has been problematic in its dealings with the United States.
He further disclosed that he had directed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to halt all business engagements with Spain.
He said, “We’re going to stop all trade with Spain. We don’t want any connection with Spain.”
Trump’s remarks came hours after Spain’s Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares, downplayed the possibility of retaliatory measures.
Addressing journalists following Tuesday’s weekly cabinet meeting, Albares emphasized that the military facilities in question are Spanish sovereign bases operated jointly with the United States under an existing bilateral treaty.
He explained that the bases can be utilized within the framework of that treaty while maintaining Spain’s sovereignty.
“So, there’s nothing unusual or unexpected about this, and we don’t expect any effects or outcomes,” he said.
Albares also clarified that Washington had not submitted any formal request to use the bases located in Rota and Morón.
He added that he had not engaged in discussions with US representatives regarding the matter and had not received any related requests.
Trump also criticized Spain over its stance on NATO defense spending commitments. He expressed dissatisfaction that Spain had not aligned with the alliance’s proposal requiring member states to allocate five percent of their gross domestic product to defense expenditures. According to Trump, other allies, including Germany, had shown support for the initiative, while Spain did not participate.
“Now Spain said we can’t use their bases, and that’s okay. We could use their bases; if we wanted, we could just fly in and use them. No one is going to stop us from using it. But we don’t have to. But they were unfriendly.”
