President Donald Trump has responded after Senator Lindsey Graham urged him to pull U.S. military aircraft and bases out of Spain, and suggested looking at Germany too, over their refusal to back American operations in the ongoing war against Iran.
The back-and-forth comes amid growing tensions within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as the U.S. and Israel press ahead with strikes that began in late February under Operation Epic Fury.
The campaign has been targeting Iranian nuclear sites, missile facilities, and top leadership, including the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in the opening hours.
Iran has also been responding significantly, targeting American bases in the Middle East, striking Israel, and also paralyzing operations at the Strait of Hormuz.
One of Trump’s plans was to use U.S. military bases in Spain to strike Iran. Spain refused.
Sen. Graham, a longtime Trump ally and vocal hawk on Iran, took to X to blast Spain’s socialist government for blocking the use of key joint bases like Rota and Morón.
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The facilities house American forces and have long been vital for U.S. operations in the Mediterranean and beyond.
The South Carolina senator said he was “encouraging” Trump to relocate all U.S. assets out of Spain entirely.
“We should move all our stuff to Israel,” Graham declared in one widely shared clip. “I will stand with Israel until our dying day.”
He went further, calling the current Spanish leadership the “gold standard of pathetically weak European leadership” and accusing them of moral inconsistency, quick to condemn Russia’s actions in Ukraine but seemingly indifferent to Iran’s long record of sponsoring terrorism and pursuing nuclear weapons.
The senator’s frustration didn’t stop just at Madrid. Broader criticism has swept in European reluctance to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that carries about one-fifth of the world’s oil supply.
After Iran retaliated by harassing shipping and threatening closures, several NATO partners, including France, Germany, Spain, and Italy, reportedly declined to commit naval or air assets to escort operations or allow overflights for offensive missions tied to the Iran conflict.
Trump speaks on the matter
On Friday, March 20, Trump responded to the calls by echoing Graham’s anger but directing much of his fire at Spain in particular.
Speaking from the White House, he called the country’s stance “terrible” and threatened to cut off trade ties if Madrid continued to refuse cooperation.
“We don’t want anything to do with Spain right now,” he said, adding that the U.S. could simply “fly in and use” the bases if needed, a blunt assertion of American leverage.
The president also posted on Truth Social, saying most NATO allies had signaled they wanted no part in the military campaign against what he called Iran’s “terrorist regime,” despite privately agreeing that Tehran could never be allowed a nuclear bomb.
“We no longer ‘need,’ or desire, the NATO Countries’ assistance — WE NEVER DID!” he wrote.
Also Read: Trump Critic Links SAVE America Act to Voter Crackdown Amid Iran War Costs
Oil prices have spiked sharply amid uncertainty over further disruptions in the Gulf. In Europe, due to pressure from their own citizens, government officials are trying to avoid being drawn into yet another Middle Eastern conflict.
Trump Getting challenged
Critics in Congress and abroad argue the U.S.-Israel strikes lacked full congressional authorization or broad NATO consultation, risking escalation without a joint burden.
Graham, who served in the Air Force during the Cold War and once worked near U.S. bases in Spain, expressed admiration for the Spanish people but said the current government’s position revealed “the true nature of your allies” in a crisis.
He suggested history would judge Spain harshly for sitting out efforts to challenge what he described as “the most bloodthirsty regime since WWII.”
Do it ! Get all of your bases out of every country. You betray every alliance and threaten every country.
They are pointless to the civilized world because the USA doesn’t do anything about Russia or any other threat. You threw Ukraine under Putins bus. Your bases serve no peaceful purpose and only exist to prop up your military industrial complex. Yankee go home.