Spain will participate this Friday in the second international meeting on the Strait of Hormuz, after withdrawing from the first

Eduardo González Spain will participate this Friday in the conference of “non-belligerent countries” convened by French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to address the restoration of freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, just two weeks after declining to participate in the first international meeting on the same topic in London. Sources at Moncloa Palace explained this Thursday that Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez will not attend the Paris conference because it coincides with the first Spain-Brazil Summit. Therefore, Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares will represent Spain. The minister himself confirmed to La Sexta on Thursday that Spain has been invited to this meeting. The same sources clarified that Spain's participation in this new meeting on the Strait of Hormuz does not imply any change in the government's position regarding the armed conflict in the Middle East. Specifically, Spain remains deeply concerned about the situation in Iran and the Gulf due to the war, and particularly its impact on the Strait of Hormuz and freedom of navigation through it, but it is clearly opposed to any kind of military intervention. Spain had not previously joined these initiatives because it had doubts about the approach of the coalition being formed to resolve this crisis, but it has finally decided to participate in this new meeting after concluding that what France, the United Kingdom, and the various countries involved are seeking is to analyze the initiatives that can be implemented, not to promote a military intervention. The same sources do not rule out the possibility that, in the future, once the war has ended, Spain could become involved in an international mission that contributes to restoring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. However, any concrete action in this regard will depend on the progress of the peace negotiations between the United States and Iran and on achieving a cessation of hostilities. On April 2nd, British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper convened a virtual meeting with the approximately forty countries that make up the coalition to unblock the Strait of Hormuz. Spain was not among the participating countries, but days later, Albares stated in the Senate that he had been “invited as Spain’s Foreign Minister to the meeting in London,” but decided not to attend because the government does not want “to do anything that escalates this conflict” and is in favor of “de-escalation and negotiation.” This new meeting is being held five days after US President Donald Trump announced his administration’s intention to seize control of Hormuz following the breakdown of negotiations with Iran. Since the beginning of the conflict on February 28th, Iranian authorities have kept the Strait of Hormuz almost completely closed, a waterway through which a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) passes.

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