US President Donald Trump on Tuesday lashed out at Britain and Spain for not fully backing his assault on Iran, and threatened to end “all trade” with Spain after Madrid refused to permit U.S. operations from its bases. Trump made the comments at the White House while standing beside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
“I’m not happy with the UK,” Trump said, criticizing British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and adding, “This is not Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with.” Britain, a long-time U.S. ally, declined to join the attack on Iran that Trump said he launched with Israel on Saturday.
Starmer said U.S. fighter jets could use two UK air bases for a “specific and limited defensive purpose” — one in Gloucestershire and the joint UK–US base at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. He added that U.S. forces were not authorized to use British bases in Cyprus, one of which was reportedly struck by an Iranian-made drone.
Trump complained that it had taken “three, four days for us to work out where we can land,” and suggested Diego Garcia would have been a more convenient option. He also criticized Starmer over the British government’s agreement to return the Chagos Islands, where Diego Garcia is located, to Mauritius and then lease the base — calling the decision and the island itself “stupid” and accusing the UK of being “very, very uncooperative.”
Trump also voiced anger at Spain, where Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s left‑wing government has denied permission for U.S. attacks from long-used Spanish bases. “Spain has been terrible,” Trump said, and said he had instructed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to “cut off all dealings with Spain.”
He cited Sánchez’s refusal to join a NATO pledge to boost defence spending to 5 percent of GDP and declared, “So we’re going to cut off all trade with Spain. We don’t want anything to do with Spain.” It remains unclear what authority the president would have to end trade after the Supreme Court struck down his use of emergency powers to impose arbitrary tariffs.
Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares had earlier said Madrid would allow use of Naval Base Rota and Morón Air Base only for activities consistent with the United Nations Charter. (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Original Source: https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/iran-israel-war-trump-warns-of-ending-all-trade-with-spain-for-not-backing-attack-on-iran-11165346#publisher=newsstand
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Publish Date: 2026-03-04 00:13:00
