The Diplomat
The Spanish Government yesterday condemned the attack perpetrated by Iran against Israel, asked that an escalation in the region be avoided and assured that “the Spanish colony is fine.”
In a message on the social network X, the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, wrote that, “after a long and distressing night in which the scale of the attack perpetrated by Iran has been confirmed, the Government of Spain condemns it, as it has condemned and will always condemn all forms of violence that threaten the safety and well-being of innocent civilians.”
“The response of all international leaders demands responsibility and restraint,” warned Pedro Sánchez. “We must learn from history and find a way to resolve conflicts through diplomatic means, avoiding at all costs an even greater escalation,” he concludes.
Sánchez’s message came a few hours after having published another, in which the condemnation was not expressly stated and said: “We follow the events in the Middle East with utmost concern. A regional escalation must be avoided at all costs.”
Also the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, had to use a second message on X to condemn “Iran’s attacks against Israel, which constitute a very serious step towards regional escalation”, since, in the first one without mentioning Iran he claimed to be “deeply concerned about the situation in the Middle East.”
In the second message, he added, after the condemnation, that “Spain remains committed to regional stability and peace. Containment is essential.”
“The Spanish colony is fine. In permanent contact with our embassies in the area that are operational to provide assistance to the Spanish people. Regional escalation must be avoided,” he added.
The leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, also condemned “the indiscriminate attack by the Iranian regime against Israel.” “Iran and its militias in the region seriously threaten the stability of the Middle East,” he said.
Furthermore, on his X social network account, he stated that “Spain must work with its allies, without hesitation, to stabilize the situation and avoid further escalation.”
Later, during a rally in Bilbao, Feijóo accused Sánchez’s Executive of being “again, the last in the defense of freedoms and in the defense of Western democracies.” And he insisted that Iran is “the main destabilizing threat in the Middle East region,” while he stated that Iran and Hamas “cannot have the protection of any Western democracy.”
The Israeli Embassy in Spain thanked Feijóo “sincerely for his firm position against the indiscriminate aggression of the Iranian regime towards Israel.” “Today, the entire free world must stand with Israel against the Iranian axis of evil,” he continues.
The foreign ministers of the countries of the European Union (EU) will meet tomorrow, Tuesday, in an extraordinary manner and by videoconference, to analyze the situation in the Middle East, convened by the High Representative of the 27 for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, who announced that the objective of the meeting is “to contribute to de-escalation and security in the region.”
