Spain has permanently withdrawn its ambassador to Israel
By Bernie,
Spain has permanently withdrawn its ambassador to Israel, the country's Official State Gazette confirmed on Tuesday, in a dramatic escalation of one of the sharpest diplomatic rifts in Europe over the war on Iran. The Spanish embassy in Tel Aviv will be led by a charge d'affaires for the foreseeable future.
Spain has been the most vocal European opponent of the U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called the strikes "unjustifiable" and "dangerous" on the first day of the war, declaring Madrid's position in four words: "No to the war." His government refused to allow U.S. forces to use the Rota naval base and Morón air base in southern Spain for missions linked to the strikes on Iran, forcing the U.S. military to relocate more than a dozen refueling aircraft. President Trump responded by threatening to cut off all trade with Spain, saying "Spain has been terrible" and "we don't want anything to do with Spain."
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar accused Spain of "standing with tyrants" and "standing with Iran." Spain's Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares dismissed the accusation as "absurd and ridiculous," insisting Spain had condemned Iranian human rights violations while maintaining that the military campaign was not the way to solve the crisis.
The ambassador had originally been recalled last September after Spain banned weapons shipments to Israel from transiting its territory. Israel's embassy in Madrid has been operating under a charge d'affaires since last May, when Israel recalled its ambassador over Spain's recognition of a Palestinian state. Despite the political rift with both Washington and Jerusalem, Spain deployed the frigate Cristóbal Colón to the Mediterranean to join France's carrier strike group, positioning itself within a European defense framework separate from the U.S.-led coalition.
Topics: Iran, Israeli Politics, Diplomacy
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