Albares warns that “the minimum conditions” for an operation in Hormuz “under the UN flag” do not exist

Eduardo González Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares insisted on Tuesday that Spain continues to rule out “any participation” in a possible mission in Hormuz because “there is no military solution for opening the strait and, at this time, the conditions are not even minimally conducive to an operation under the United Nations flag.” “We completely rule out any participation in a forceful operation and any action that could lead to escalation; this is something that must be avoided at all costs at this time, because the risk of war remains ever-present,” the minister declared during an interview on the TVE program 'La hora de La 1'. “I insist: there is no military solution for opening the Strait of Hormuz, and at this time, the conditions are not even minimally conducive to an operation under the United Nations flag,” he added. According to the minister, the current situation in Hormuz is one of “a double blockade, imposed by Iran and the United States, with a status quo that is clearly unsustainable.” Furthermore, he warned, there are “extremely serious incidents, with open fire, acknowledged by both the United States and Iran,” and “unjustified attacks against the Emirates, which we condemn.” “What this demonstrates is that there is no military solution to this situation, that the Strait of Hormuz cannot remain blocked much longer, because the consequences are global, the tension enormous, and that we must return to the negotiating table and that there is no solution beyond diplomacy,” he insisted. According to Albares, the United States has not informed Spain or any of its allies about the military operation it launched this Monday to try to free the ships blocked in the Strait of Hormuz. “We have no information, and from what I've heard from colleagues in other allied countries, neither do they,” he asserted. “This is a unilateral war; there is no doubt about that, and no one, not even the countries involved, intends to say otherwise. Therefore, no one is informing other allies about the military operations,” he denounced. Global consequences Under these conditions, he warned, the consequences of this crisis “are global for Spain, for Europe, and for the entire world,” and the immediate risks for our country are “the increase in energy prices, on the one hand, and the increase in fertilizer prices, which would have an impact on food prices.” “In the medium term, if this situation continues or if violence were to return,” there would be “a displacement of the population toward Europe or from Lebanon,” he added. “We must not forget” that Lebanon “is part of this war, even though it is very far from the Strait of Hormuz” and that, “of course, Israel’s illegal invasion is directly connected to this war against Iran, and the Lebanese people are hostages in this pincer movement between Israel and Hezbollah,” he warned. Conversation with Iran Albares insisted that the parties must continue negotiating, with Pakistan mediating and “with the full support of Spain.” “The day before yesterday, the Iranian Foreign Minister (Abbas Araghchi) called me to inform me about the state of the negotiations, to give me his perspective on how they were progressing,” he explained. In that interview, he asserted, the minister told him “very clearly” that “Iran must stop launching rockets and missiles at the other Gulf countries and that he should remain at the negotiating table, continuing to rely entirely on diplomacy,” because “there is no military solution, neither for the United States nor for Iran.” “Spain’s position is very clear on how this crisis, the most serious global crisis of this century, should be resolved: the Strait of Hormuz must be reopened, and it must be free, safe, and without any tolls. This must also be conveyed to the Iranian Foreign Minister. The war on Iran must cease completely, as must the launching of rockets and missiles by Iran against the rest of the countries in the Middle East. And the illegal invasion of Lebanon must end,” he declared.

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