Cheap politics, dangerous consequences: The Sanchez doctrine

Spain has taken an extraordinary step. Defence Minister Margarita Robles announced Monday that Madrid has closed its airspace to American military aircraft involved in operations against Iran, going even further than its earlier refusal to allow the use of jointly-operated bases. 

"We don't authorize either the use of military bases or the use of airspace for actions related to the war in Iran," she told reporters in Madrid.

The move forces U.S. military planes to reroute around a NATO ally en route to the Middle East. Let that sink in.

Pedro Sanchez has positioned himself as the West's most vocal critic of the U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran, calling it "reckless and illegal." His government, propped up by hard-left and pro-Iran factions, has now translated that rhetoric into concrete action that directly hampers Western military operations.

President Trump has not minced words, threatening to cut trade with Madrid over the refusal to grant access to Spanish bases. The message from Washington is clear. Sanchez, apparently, is not listening.

The Logic That Defies Logic

Let us follow Sanchez's reasoning to its conclusion. If military action against Iran is "illegal," what is the alternative? Allow the mullahs' regime to continue massacring civilians, accelerate its nuclear programme, flood the region with missiles and proxies, and pursue the destruction of Israel, all while the international community watches and delivers stern statements?

This is not a peace policy. It is an abdication dressed up as principle.

Iran has spent decades destabilising the Middle East, through Hezbollah in Lebanon, through the Houthis in Yemen, through Hamas in Gaza, through proxy militias across Iraq and Syria. 

Its nuclear ambitions are documented, its contempt for international law is on the record, and its calls for the annihilation of a democratic state are not metaphorical. And yet Sanchez reserves his outrage not for Tehran, but for those attempting to stop it.

There is nothing mysterious about what is happening here. Sanchez leads a deeply unpopular government, sustained in power by alliances with parties that openly sympathise with Hamas, Hezbollah and the Iranian regime. 

With legislative elections looming in 2027, he needs to energise a hard-left electorate that views Israel as the enemy and America as the villain.

Closing Spanish airspace to U.S. planes is not a strategic decision. It is a campaign poster. Cheap symbolism at a catastrophic cost, to Spain's credibility, to NATO cohesion, and to the broader effort to contain one of the world's most dangerous regimes.

Spain is a NATO member. That membership comes with obligations, not just benefits. Blocking allied military operations, denying access to shared bases, and publicly undermining the Western coalition while an existential conflict rages in the Middle East is not neutrality. It is a choice. And it is a choice with consequences.

Donald Trump has already signalled those consequences. Europe's other capitals are watching. And the damage to Spain's standing within the alliance will not be repaired by the next election cycle.

Pedro Sanchez may fancy himself a courageous voice for peace. What he is, in practice, is a leader who has chosen ideological posturing over strategic responsibility, and whose decisions make the world not safer, but more dangerous.

That is not the mark of a statesman. It is the mark of a politician playing games with other people's security.