Spain and U.S. row over use of bases in war against Iran

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Spanish Defence Minister Margarita Robles and U.S. Ambassador to Spain Benjamin Leon Jr. met in Madrid for talks on Wednesday evening, as the diplomatic row between the two countries deepens. 

A diplomatic tussle between the United States and Spain over the war in Iran intensified on Wednesday when the governments exchanged contradictory statements over the possible use of Spanish military bases by American armed forces for operations in the Middle East.

The disagreement broke out on Tuesday when Trump said that he was going to "cut off all trade with Spain," a day after Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said that his government wouldn't allow the U.S. to use jointly operated bases in southern Spain in any strikes not covered by the UN charter. 

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said that his government wouldn't "be complicit in something that is bad for the world."

Sánchez, widely regarded as Europe's last major progressive leader, has called the US and Israeli attacks on Iran an "unjustifiable" and "dangerous" military intervention.

Sánchez again criticized the U.S. and Israel's military actions in Iran early on Wednesday when he made a nationally televised address. While not mentioning Trump by name, Sánchez stood firm against trade threats from Washington and warning that the war in the Middle East risked "playing Russian roulette" with millions of lives.