Spain’s socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez scolded the U.S. and Israel on Wednesday for their ongoing attacks on Iran, calling the conflict an “absurd, cruel and illegal” challenge to international law.
In an address to the Spanish Congress he further warned of consequences “far worse” than Iraq as opponents mocked images of him on Iranian missiles.
Ynet News reports in the lower house speech outlining his government’s opposition to a U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran, Sánchez argued the war is intended, among other things, “to undermine international law, destabilize the Middle East and bury Gaza under the rubble of oblivion.”
Sánchez, a determined critic of U.S. President Donald Trump, warned the current war against Iran carries a scenario for outcomes “far worse” than the Second Gulf War and, “something with the potential for far greater and deeper consequences.”
The socialist’s vocal opposition to the actions of Spain’s NATO ally has been long standing, as Breitbart News reported.
He argued the war in Iran – now entering its fourth week – erupted to “serve the interests of the usual suspects,” and forecast while it may “pass quickly,” it could also lead to “an Iraq-style nightmare many times greater, with the entire world bearing the consequences.” Ynet News reports he continued:
The Spanish government will act to ensure this does not happen again. What we can be sure of is that this war will not deliver higher wages, more affordable housing or better public services.
And that is a real tragedy.
The last thing the world needed right now was another war — and in this case, an absurd, cruel and illegal war that distances us from our economic, social and environmental goals.”
Sánchez accused the United States and Israel of launching the attack at a time when the former had “a nuclear agreement in hand,” which he said was rejected “without explanation, without warning allies, without legal backing and without defined objectives.”
The prime minister spoke just 24-hours after another NATO ally of the U.S., German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, grimly forecast a “deep rift” growing with traditional NATO ally the United States, slamming U.S.-Israeli military action as a “breach of international law,” as Breitbart News reported.
The German leader urged urged his country to become more independent of the U.S., both in terms of defense and technology, arguing autonomy is necessary to prevent Trump administration interference in his country’s domestic politics.
Steinmeier finally dismissed the Iran military campaign as “a politically disastrous mistake” and “a truly avoidable, unnecessary war” that defied the international rule of law which Germany acts to strictly obey at all times.