The United States and Israel’s “unilateral action” in Iran “doesn’t have backing from the United Nations’ Charter or international law,” Spain’s Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares has told Euronews’ flagship morning programme Europe Today.
Speaking live on Monday morning, Albares also condemned Iran’s retaliatory strikes against several other nations in the Middle East as “unjustified”, calling on the European Union to be a “voice of reason” amid a dangerous escalation.
“We have condemned every human rights violation from the Iranian regime and we are with the people of Iran. We want to protect them, we want to protect their freedom,” Albares said.
But he added that as the conflict spills over into the wider region, Spain and the European Union “must be a voice of reason, a voice that tries to put some balance into what’s happening, that speaks of de-escalation and going back to diplomacy and negotiation.”
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is the only EU leader to have openly condemned Saturday’s US-Israeli strikes on Iran, which have triggered a spiralling conflict in the region.
Sánchez’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.
“Through violence, there will be no peace, but there will be no democracy or stability either,” Albares said on Monday. “Therefore we really will foster de-escalation and going back to the negotiation table.”
Tehran has nonetheless said it will not return to the negotiating table with the US as the bombing enters its third day.
Iran and the US had been engaging in talks on the Iranian nuclear programme in Geneva before Saturday’s intervention.
Albares also reacted to comments made by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar to Euronews on Sunday alleging that Spain stood with the “tyrants of the world.”
“That is absurd and ridiculous. Spain has a coherent foreign policy,” Albares responded, emphasising Spain is “coherently” implementing its position in relation to global conflicts across the world.
“Very few countries in the world can say that,” he added. “We have a coherent voice in the world, and we will continue doing it whether it pleases anyone.”
