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Since Saturday February 28, the United States and Israel have been launching missiles at Iran, killing the Ayatollah and several other high-ranking Iranian officials, while Iran has launched its own missile attacks on military bases around the Middle East belonging to the US and its allies.

 

In Spain, the general mood and reaction from official sources have been predictably down the line when it comes to a liberal democratic, rules-based world order point of view.

 

President Pedro Sánchez, one of few world leaders who has dared to be openly critical of Trump in the past, called for an “immediate de-escalation” of the conflict this Sunday, March 1, a resumption of dialogue as soon as possible.

 

He walked a line between those who celebrate the downfall of the Ayatollah’s oppressive 37-year reign and those who criticise Trump and Netanyahu’s unlawful, unilateral warfare tactics, saying that it is possible to be against both a “hateful regime” and an “unjustified, dangerous and illegal intervention” at the same time.

 

In his speech at the traditional gala dinner at the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (MNAC) to mark the opening of the 20th edition of the Mobile World Congress (MWC), presided over by Spain’s King Felipe VI, Sánchez indicated that the world is at a crossroads, where the choice is clear: “war or peace”. And on this point, Spain is clear about where it stands, he said.

 

“In the need to resume dialogue as soon as possible, Spain will be there.”

 

The King himself, in his speech, said, “We call for restraint in the use of force, respect for civilian life, a diplomatic solution and the restoration of dialogue for peace.”

 

Addressing the attendees of the mobile technology conference, he added, “Technology must be part of the ethical framework for connection, not division. Let us continue working to ensure that connectivity is more than just a technical advance, but a lever for progress, cohesion and wellbeing.”

 

Leader of the conservative opposition party, PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, took a different tack in his comments, stating, “The world is better when a tyrant falls. In Iran, for decades, the ayatollahs have maintained a regime of repression and constant threat... the fall of such a system is good news for freedom and democracy.”

 

However, he refused to condemn the US and Israel’s actions in the intervention.

 

Iran’s ambassador to Spain, Reza Zabib, stated in comments to the press, “We do not expect this to be a short-lived attack” and that there would be retribution for those responsible.

 

“In terms of military defence, we are much better prepared than we were before the aggression of June 2025, and all capabilities have been improved. Therefore, the aggressors will pay a high price,” he said.

 

Against accusations that the US used its naval base in Spain’s Rota (Cádiz) in its attack against Iran, Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares stated that he has no information that the US used Rota or Morón in the attack on Iran. 

 

Meanwhile, France, the United Kingdom and Germany, which form the so-called E3 bloc, warned on Sunday that they would consider collaborating with the US in taking measures to destroy Iran’s ability to launch missiles and drones.

 

“We will take steps to defend our interests and those of our allies in the region, potentially through enabling necessary and proportionate defensive action to destroy Iran’s capability to fire missiles and drones at their source,” the three countries said in a joint statement issued this Sunday.

 

As well as high-profile military and political targets in Iran, there have been hundreds of civilian casualties, including at least 165 dead and many more injured in a drone strike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls’ elementary school in Minab.

 

Image: @sanchezcastejon/X