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TRANSCRIPT:
As the US Israeli war on Iran expands, United States President Donald Trump has hit out at allies in Europe.
The first to be targeted was Spain.
“Spain actually said that we can't use their bases. And that's all right. We don't want to do it, we could use their base if we want, we can just fly in and use it. Nobody's going to tell us not to use it. But we don't have to, but they were unfriendly. And so I told him we don't want to — Spain has absolutely nothing that we need other than great people. They have great people."
The comments came after the Spanish government said it wouldn't allow the United States to use bases in its southern region for any strikes that are not covered by the U-N charter.
The US president also condemned Spain for a decision last year [[2025]] to back out of NATO's 5 per cent defence spending target, which, at the time, prompted US tariff threats.
After a Supreme Court ruling this year struck down Donald Trump's legal justification for the sweeping global tariffs, the US President now says he's considering cutting off all trade with Spain.
"I could tomorrow stop, or today, even better, stop everything having to do with Spain. All business having to deal with Spain have the right to stop it, embargoes, do anything I want with it. And we may do that with Spain, what do you think?”
But Spain's Defence Minister Margarita Robles has defended their decision, saying the country won't be forced to break international law.
"The bases in Moron (de la Frontera) and Rota have not provided any assistance whatsoever, absolutely none, to this action, to these attacks that are being carried out on the bases. It is true that there is an agreement with the United States, but we understand that this agreement must operate within the framework of international law. There must be international protection in whatever sphere so that these actions can be carried out."
Spain is not the only US ally in the president's firing line, with Donald Trump also scolding U-K Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
That's because after the strikes, Mr Starmer told parliament that his government does not believe in regime change from the skies and will refuse to play a role in the war on Iran.
“By the way, I'm not happy with the UK either. That island (Chagos Islands) that you read about, the lease, he made it for whatever reason, he made a lease of the island. Somebody came and took it away from him. And it's taken three, four days for us to work out where we can land there would have been much more convenient landing there as opposed to flying many extra hours. So we are very surprised. This is not Winston Churchill that we're dealing with."
The British Prime Minister did ultimately agree to a US request to use two British military bases, but clarified that this does not mean the UK is getting involved.
"To be clear, the use of British bases is limited to the agreed defensive purposes. We are not joining the US and Israeli offensive strikes."
Since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, many U-K politicians have been haunted by former Prime Minister Tony Blair's support for the war.
With a reported 179 British soldiers killed and an official inquiry finding that Mr Blair had acted on flawed intelligence, government minister Darren Jones says the UK has learnt its lesson.
But while diplomatic tensions are tight, Chatham House associate fellow Bader al-Saif says this type of rhetoric from Donald Trump has come to be expected.
"I wouldn't read too much into it, to be honest. We've heard more damaging statements on other leaders and on Starmer in the past as well. So I think it just comes as part of the playbook that is on display with this US administration, and I think they'll come around it."
In the immediate aftermath of the strikes, France, Germany and the United Kingdom, also known as the E-3, released a joint statement condemning the Iranian regime and signalling a defensive approach.
Since then, Germany and France have both signalled their support for the strikes, with France committing to sending an aircraft carrier to the Mediterranean and working to secure maritime traffic in the region.
Bader al-Saif says European countries would benefit from making clear their position on the war.
"I think there needs to be a clear positioning out of Europe on where they stand in all of this and how can they support their partners. We saw the E3 (UK, Germany and France) statement the other day and I think that's a welcome development, and I'm not saying that they should join the war effort, but I think they have vested partners in the region, including the Gulf states."
So far, no European country has joined the strikes on Iran, though some analysts speculate they could join the operation at some point.
Iran's top envoy to the United Nations, Ali Bahreini, says Iran will respond accordingly if Europe gets involved.
Mr Bahreini says the United States made a "stupid decision" by attacking Iran during negotiations - and as retaliatory strikes hit the region, Mr Bahreini says Iran won't allow anyone to enable what they have described as US-Israeli aggression.
“This war is not a war against our neighbours. This war is a war against the United States and Israel. This is not a regional war. And according to the accepted international norms, if any base or location or facility in a country is used to attack other countries and invade other countries, that would be a legitimate target.”
With strikes carried out on a number of Gulf countries, Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari says all the red lines have been crossed.
“When it comes to possible retaliation, as I said, all options are with our leadership. But we have to make it very clear that attacks like these will not go unanswered and cannot go unanswered.”
Meanwhile, as trade routes are disrupted and financial markets shaken, some experts have speculated that Iran is trying to pressure the United States economically.
Defence analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, Sascha Bruchmann, says Iran may be pushing its neighbours closer to the United States.
"I think the Iranians have this idea by punishing the GCC countries they can actually break them out of the coalition. Now, I think it has the opposite effect of them closing ranks and getting closer to the United States. But nonetheless, the original design, I think of the Iranian strikes was to impose costs."
Despite Donald Trump's insistence that the Iranian leadership has tried to engage in further talks with the U-S, Ali Bahreini says no contact has been attempted from the Iranian side.
With the United Nations calling for continued diplomacy, Secretary General spokesperson Stephane Dujarric says the solution will not be found in war.
"For us, the solution to what is going on is not more soldiers, more weapons. It is a halt and a return to a negotiating table."
