Spain demands “immediate de-escalation” to avoid “another devastating war in the Middle East”

Eduardo González The Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, has rejected both “the unilateral military action of the US and Israel” against Iran and “the actions of the Iranian regime and the Revolutionary Guard” and has demanded “immediate de-escalation and full respect for international law.” Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader for 36 years, was killed during a bombing raid on his official residence. “We reject the unilateral military action of the US and Israel, which represents an escalation and contributes to a more uncertain and hostile international order,” Sánchez wrote on social media. “We also reject the actions of the Iranian regime and the Revolutionary Guard,” he continued. “We cannot afford another prolonged and devastating war in the Middle East. We demand immediate de-escalation and full respect for international law. It is time to resume dialogue and reach a lasting political solution for the region,” he concluded. Hours later, speaking to the media before attending the Goya Awards ceremony in Barcelona, Sánchez described the “unilateral” attack by Israel and the United States against Iran as a “violation of international law” and condemned the “totalitarian and cruel” regime of the Islamic Republic. Albares and the Foreign Ministry The first reaction from Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares came mid-morning on Saturday, when he wrote on social media that he was “closely following the serious situation after the US-Israeli bombing of Iran.” “We call for respect for international law,” he continued. “Violence only brings chaos. De-escalation and dialogue are the path to peace and stability,” he warned. Later, sources at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the media that Albares was “monitoring the evolving situation with his crisis team at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in constant contact with the Prime Minister, his European and regional counterparts, and other European officials.” Specifically, the minister spoke with his counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud; Qatar, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani; Turkey, Hakan Fidan; Jordan, Ayman Safadi; and Egypt, Badr Abdellatty; to discuss the situation in the Middle East and convey “Spain’s firm commitment to regional stability and peace” and its “solidarity and support for those under attack,” as he wrote on social media. Later, he spoke with his counterparts from the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and Kuwait, Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, “countries that are receiving Iranian attacks,” to convey Spain’s support “for their sovereignty and territorial integrity.” “The attacks must stop,” he added via social media. Separately, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, announced an extraordinary meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers via videoconference for this Sunday, March 1, to discuss “the situation in Iran and the rapidly developing events in the Middle East.” The meeting will begin at 5:00 p.m. Furthermore, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has advised “Spaniards in the Middle East” that, “given the escalating situation,” all Spanish embassies in the region are fully operational and providing updated information through their official channels and social media, as well as their emergency phone lines. The consular emergency unit at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is “operating 24 hours a day. Telephone: +34910001249,” Albares himself wrote. According to sources at the Ministry, the Spanish Embassy in Tehran has prepared “a possible evacuation plan to be activated if circumstances require it,” they specified. Currently, according to the same sources, the number of Spaniards in Iran stands at 158, and travel advisories already included the highest level of alert before the attack: “Travel to Iran is strongly discouraged. Spaniards in Iran are advised to leave the country using available means. The Embassy is closely monitoring the situation.” Other Government reactions For her part, Second Vice President and leader of Sumar, Yolanda Díaz, warned that “the destruction of international law is leading us to a world of continuous aggression, with impunity as the only rule. Trump and Netanyahu are a threat to the security of the entire planet,” she added. The Minister of Culture and leader of the Sumar party, Ernest Urtasun, condemned the “unilateral and illegal” attack by the US and Israel against Iran, warning that it will only contribute to making the Islamic Republic regime more “repressive.” “It is a unilateral and illegal attack that I take this opportunity to condemn, and I hope the EU will do the same, because it will lead to a military escalation whose outcome we cannot foresee,” he told Catalunya Ràdio. The Minister of Health and leader of Más Madrid, Mónica García, has also condemned the “imperialist operation” by the United States and Israel against the “theocracy” of Iran, and has warned that “the Government of Spain has never hesitated to confront the Trump administration, to confront Israel and also to confront the dictatorships and theocracies of the world.” The situation: Khamenei is dead Israel and the United States jointly launched a massive attack against Iran early Saturday morning with the aim of “eliminating threats,” according to the Israeli Ministry of Defense. The operations, planned for months, targeted infrastructure of the regime’s military and nuclear architecture and political targets, including the official residence of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Hours later, US President Donald Trump asserted that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, “one of the most evil people in history,” had died during the attacks and announced, via social media, that the “heavy and precise” bombing of Iran would continue “without interruption this week or for as long as it takes to achieve our objective.” According to Israeli media, both Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were able to see “a photo of the body” of Ali Khamenei after it was recovered by Iranian authorities from the rubble of his residential compound. Hours later, Khamenei's death was confirmed by the Iranian government itself through the official news agency IRNA. The objective of this massive attack, dubbed Operation Epic Fury, is to ensure that the Islamic Republic “does not acquire a nuclear weapon,” declared Donald Trump. Explosions have been reported in several locations across Iran, particularly in the capital, Tehran, where a bomb struck a girls' school, killing more than 50 people. Immediately after the attack, missile sirens were triggered across Israeli territory, and Defense Minister Israel Katz formally declared a state of emergency nationwide in anticipation of a possible “missile and drone attack against the State of Israel and its civilian population in the immediate future,” similar to what occurred after the joint US-Israeli attack on Iran in June 2015. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) responded to the attack, asserting that all Israeli and US military targets in the Middle East had been hit “by powerful Iranian missile strikes.” The targets include Israeli territory and various US military bases in several countries in the region, such as Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Bahrain. The massive attack comes at a time of heightened tension in the Middle East. The United States has repeatedly threatened to attack Iran if the current negotiations on nuclear material (the latest round was held this Thursday) do not conclude with an agreement. The UN nuclear agency, the IAEA, warned this Friday that Iran has not allowed it to adequately monitor its nuclear program since June 2025. In recent times, the United States has carried out a military buildup in the Middle East similar to that which preceded the Iraq War. Israeli and Iranian Embassies The Israeli Embassy in Madrid has released a video in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announces the “operation” launched by Israel and the United States “to eliminate the existential threat posed by the terrorist regime in Iran” and thanks his “great friend, President Donald Trump, for his historic leadership.” “For 47 years, the ayatollahs’ regime has demanded ‘Death to Israel’ and ‘Death to America.’ It has shed our blood, murdered many Americans, and massacred its own people. This murderous terrorist regime must not be allowed to arm itself with nuclear weapons that would allow it to threaten all of humanity,” the message continues. “Our joint action will create the conditions for the courageous Iranian people to take control of their destiny. The time has come for all sectors of the Iranian people—Persians, Kurds, Azeris, Balochis, and Ahwazis—to free themselves from the yoke of tyranny and build a free and peaceful Iran,” he added. For its part, the Iranian Embassy in Spain issued a brief message on social media with the phrase “Iran will resist and crush the aggressors,” accompanied by an image of several hands (all, evidently, male) holding an Iranian flag.

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