Spain Cuts Further Adrift From Western Alliance With Airspace Closure to U.S. Military

Nobody expects the Spanish imposition. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s decision to close Spanish airspace to U.S. military flights targeting Iran will hamper U.S. war planning. Sanchez’s defiance might play well domestically, but it has already irritated Washington.

Sanchez Positions Spain Outside the U.S.-Led Alliance

The U.S. military regularly deploys B-52s and occasionally B-1 bombers to its base at Morón in southern Spain as part of bomber task forces for European deterrence. Sanchez criticized the war against Iran in its opening hours and forbade the United States from using Morón and a second base at Rota for this purpose.

Beyond the conflict with Iran, Spain has openly defied President Donald Trump’s demand that NATO members spend 5 percent of their gross domestic product on defense, insisting that 2 percent is sufficient. Trump suggested booting “laggard” Spain from NATO for not carrying its weight and — as was the case with Sanchez’s opposition to the Iran war — threatened trade penalties against Spain. Sanchez also criticized the U.S. capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, likening it to “invasions driven by the thirst for oil.”

Spain’s Deep-Seated Hostility to Israel

Sanchez’s defiance of the United States appears mild compared to his open hostility to Israel. Spain began a trend among European states by recognizing a Palestinian state in 2024 as a consequence of the war Hamas launched against Israel. Sanchez then became the most senior European leader to use the word “genocide” to describe the war. He also canceled arms contracts with Jerusalem; joined the lawfare campaign against Israel through an International Court of Justice case and the Hague Group; implied he would use nuclear weapons to compel Israel to leave Gaza; closed Spanish ports to weapons and supplies destined for Israel; and rejected Trump’s Gaza “Board of Peace” initiative.

Spain and Israel recalled their ambassadors in September 2025 after Spain’s deputy prime minister declared, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” a phrase widely understood as a euphemism for Israel’s destruction. Spain formally withdrew its ambassador from Israel on March 11.

Domestic Considerations Guide Sanchez’s Foreign Policy

Sanchez’s “no to war” stance and his hostility to Israel are products of his domestic political considerations, heading off challenges to his left. Meanwhile, his permissive policies on immigration have strengthened the far right, weakening his traditional rivals on the center-right to the point that they would have to rely on a party widely regarded as fascistic in order to form a coalition government.

Indeed, Sanchez’s Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party, or PSOE, lost the July 2023 election, but the center-right was unable to assemble a coalition. Sanchez  secured investiture through deals with separatist parties and agreements granting sweeping amnesty to those involved in the 2017 independence referendum in Catalonia.

Sanchez built this fragile coalition to weather accusations of massive corruption. The Koldo Case — named after a former adviser to a former senior Spanish official — has become a sprawling investigation of procurement fraud during the Covid-19 pandemic, kickbacks on public contracts worth hundreds of millions of euros, and cash payments delivered in envelopes belonging to Sanchez’s party. Sanchez’s wife was formally charged with influence peddling and corruption, while his brother is under investigation. Positioning himself as the only leader brave enough to defy Trump, oppose the war, and defend the Palestinians has provided a much-needed distraction from his domestic woes.

Sanchez has played up his opposition to the United States to win domestic support. Trump should make clear that there will be consequences for picking fights with Washington. By closing its airspace to U.S. operations against a tyrannical regime committed to America’s destruction, Spain has proven itself an unworthy NATO partner.

David May is the research manager and a senior research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). Simone Rodan-Benzaquen is senior envoy to Europe at FDD. For more analysis from the authors and FDD, please subscribe HERE. Follow FDD on X @FDD. Follow David and Simone on X @DavidSamuelMay and @srodan. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.