TEHRAN – Spain\u2019s decision to reopen its embassy in Tehran has become the clearest demonstration yet of Madrid\u2019s steadfast opposition to the US\u2011Israeli military campaign against Iran, launched on February 28.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Spain formally reopened its embassy in Tehran on Monday, becoming the first Western country to restore a diplomatic presence in Iran since a two\u2011week ceasefire between Iran and the United States took effect on April 8. Spain\u2019s move signals both its rejection of the conflict and its desire to help facilitate de\u2011escalation and renewed dialogue in the region.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe return to Tehran. The Spanish Embassy in Iran reopens after the ceasefire. Ambassador Antonio S\u00e1nchez\u2011Benedito Gaspar, together with the diplomatic team and local staff, resumes his work with the commitment to support peace,\u201d the embassy said in a post on social media.<\/p>\n
The Spanish ambassador returned to Iran via the Astara border crossing on the Caspian Sea coast in northern Iran, accompanied by his diplomatic staff, formally announcing the resumption of the embassy\u2019s activities.<\/p>\n
Sanchez-Benedito Gaspar wrote on X that he has returned to Tehran together with his “committed team” in order to “join in efforts for peace from every possible quarter,” following instructions from Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares.<\/p>\n
Spain has emerged as Europe\u2019s most outspoken critic of the US-Israeli war on Iran.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On the first day of the conflict, Prime Minister Pedro S\u00e1nchez strongly condemned the aggression. \u201cWe reject the unilateral military action by the United States and Israel, which represents an escalation and contributes to a more uncertain and hostile international order,\u201d he said in a message posted on X on February 28.<\/p>\n
In separate remarks later the same day, the Spanish premier said the war waged by US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was making the world less stable. A day later, he described the war as \u201cunjustified and dangerous\u201d and said it was \u201coutside international law.\u201d<\/p>\n
These rebukes were reinforced by Spain\u2019s refusal to allow the United States to use its military bases in Rota and Mor\u00f3n for strikes against Iran. On March 2, Albares said Spain would under no circumstances permit its bases to be used in the war on Iran.<\/p>\n
Defense Minister Margarita Robles also confirmed that neither of the Spanish bases had been used in the US military operation against Iran. In late March, Spain further escalated its opposition to the US\u2011Israeli war by closing its airspace to American aircraft involved in attacks on Iran.<\/p>\n
Spain\u2019s stance against the US\u2011Israeli war in the Middle East was also highlighted during S\u00e1nchez\u2019s visit to China. On Tuesday, during a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, S\u00e1nchez said lasting peace could be achieved by adhering to multilateralism and fostering a multipolar world. Later, at a press conference, S\u00e1nchez said China is the only global player he could envision helping to end wars in Iran and in other conflict zones, including Ukraine.<\/p>\n
S\u00e1nchez also said Spain seeks to avoid impunity for those who commit crimes in places such as Gaza, where he stated that a \u201cgenocide\u201d has been committed. \u201cInternational law is being violated today, fundamentally by one country: the government of Israel,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Observers in Tehran describe Spain\u2019s actions over the past weeks as a thoughtful and principled stance, particularly its clear objections to the military campaign against Iran. Many in Iran say Madrid\u2019s willingness to speak plainly during a tense period may well go down in history as an example of steady, independent leadership at a moment when calm judgment is in short supply.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TEHRAN – Spain\u2019s decision to reopen its embassy in Tehran has become the clearest demonstration yet of Madrid\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5656,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[17,3818,1216,842],"class_list":{"0":"post-5655","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-spain","8":"tag-spain","9":"tag-spanish-embassy-in-iran","10":"tag-spanish-prime-minister-pedro-sanchez","11":"tag-u-s"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5655","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5655"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5655\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5656"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5655"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}