Spanish Foreign Affairs Minister José Manuel Albares dismissed as "absurd and ridiculous" his Israeli counterpart Gideon Sa'ar's remarks about Spain's position on the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
Israel's and Spain's governments are at odds on the developing conflict in the Middle East, with the Spanish foreign minister rejecting Israeli claims that his country is "standing with Iran".
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"That is absurd and ridiculous," José Manuel Albares said in an interview with Euronews' Europe Today on Monday. "Spain has a coherent foreign policy," he said, insisting it is "coherently" implementing its position in relation to conflicts across the world.
"We have condemned every human rights violation from the Iranian regime and we are with the people of Iran," Albares stated, while adding that Spain and the EU "must be a voice of reason" and "put some balance into what's happening" by pursuing de-escalation and diplomacy.
The Israeli Foreign Minister, Gideon Sa'ar had said on Sunday in another interview with Euronews that "the Spanish government, which is standing with all the tyrants of the world, as it stood with Venezuela, is now standing with Iran".
Sa'ar criticised Spain's stance on the war, claiming it is a minority one in Europe. "I spoke during the last two days with most of the EU foreign affairs ministers, and a significant number of them shared the same view. [...] They might want it to be successful, but they're not part of this operation", Sa'ar said.
On Saturday, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said he "rejected the unilateral military action by the United States and Israel" on Iran, claiming it "represents an escalation and contributes to a more uncertain and hostile international order".
Sánchez then said in a statement on Sunday that it is possible "to oppose a hateful regime and, at the same time, oppose an unjustified and dangerous military intervention" and strongly criticised the actions of the Iranian regime and the Revolutionary Guard.
He has strongly condemned Iran's indiscriminate attacks on other Gulf countries, as well as Hezbollah's launch of missiles towards Israel and Israel's raids on Lebanon, insisting that "violence only generates more violence".
An outlier in Europe
Madrid's government has cemented its reputation as the most critical voice of US President Donald Trump's interventionist foreign policy in Europe, and one of the firmest critics of Israel's war in Gaza.
Spain is the only major EU country to have explicitly criticised US-Israeli strikes on Iran, while other European governments have condemned only Iranian attacks on countries in the region.
The EU statement on the developments in the Middle East, which was agreed by the High Representative Kaja Kallas and 27 member states, refers to "the protection of civilians and full respect of international law, including the principles of the United Nations Charter, and international humanitarian law", but does not mention the strikes on Iran that started the escalation.
Albares said in an interview with national broadcaster RTVE that US military bases within Spanish territory have not been used and will not be used to launch strikes on Iran, as this is not in line with the agreement between the two countries and "outside the principle of the United Nations".
The Iranian embassy in Spain expressed respect for this position, which it considers "in line with international law".
This endorsement was reposted by Sa'ar, who questioned Sánchez's claim to be "on the right side of history", associating his government with the terrorist group Hamas and Yemen's Houthi rebels.