President Donald Trump on Tuesday criticized Spain and the United Kingdom over access to military bases as US operations targeting Iran continue, saying some European allies have cooperated while others have not. He made the remarks during an Oval Office meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
“Some of the European nations have been helpful and some haven’t. And I’m, you know, very surprised. Germany has been great. He’s been terrific,” Trump said of Merz. “Others have been very good. Terrific. I think that the head of NATO… Mark Rutte. I think he’s fantastic.”
Trump then singled out Spain and said he had directed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to sever trade ties.
“But some of the European, like Spain has been terrible. In fact, I told Scott [Bessent] to cut off all dealings with Spain. Spain, first of all, it started when every European nation, at my request, paid 5%, which they should be doing. And everybody was enthusiastic about it. Germany, everybody. And Spain didn’t do it.”
He also addressed Spain’s position on US access to military installations.
“And now Spain actually said that we can’t use their bases. And that’s all right. We don’t want to do it. We could use their bases if we want. We could just fly in and use it. Nobody is going to tell us not to use it.”
“But we don’t have to. But they were unfriendly. And so I told him we don’t want to. Spain has absolutely nothing that we need other than great people. They have great people. But they don’t have great leadership. And as you know, they were the only country that in NATO would not agree to go up to 5%. I don’t think they would agree to go up to anything. They wanted to keep it at 2%. And they don’t pay the 2%. So we’re going to cut off all trade with Spain. We don’t want anything to do with Spain.”
Spain has said the United States is not using, and will not use, joint military bases on Spanish territory for operations against Iran. Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares stated, “Based on all the information I have, the bases are not being used for this military operation.” He added that Spain “will not authorise the use of the bases for anything beyond the agreement or inconsistent with the United Nations,” referencing the Rota naval base and Moron airbase.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called the US and Israeli strikes on Iran “an unjustified” and “dangerous military intervention” outside international law.
Trump slammed British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer over access to Diego Garcia in the Chagos Islands.
“And I’m not — by the way, I’m not happy with the UK either. That island that you read about, the lease — okay, he made it — for whatever reason, he made a lease of the island. Somebody came and took it away from him. And it’s taken three, four days for us to work out where we can land. It would have been a much more convenient landing there, as opposed to flying many extra hours. So we are very surprised. This is not Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with.”
Trump previously told The Telegraph he was “very disappointed” in Starmer and said the prime minister “took far too long” to allow access to Diego Garcia for what the UK later described as “specific and limited defensive purposes.” Starmer has said his government does “not believe in regime change from the skies” and that military action must be lawful and “thought-through.”
