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Spain permanently withdrew its ambassador to Israel on Tuesday in protest over US-Israeli strikes against Iran, widening an already tense diplomatic rift between the two countries.
The Spanish government formally abolished the post of ambassador in its official gazette and stated that its embassy in Tel Aviv would now be led by a chargé d’affaires indefinitely.
Madrid recalled its ambassador last September after Israel condemned Spain’s decision to block planes and ships carrying weapons to Israel from using Spanish ports or airspace. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar at the time described the move as anti-Semitic.
When a reporter asked Wednesday whether Spain, in general, is cooperating with the U.S., President Donald Trump responded, “No, they’re not. I think they’re not cooperating at all.”
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People walk past damaged buildings after an attack on a police station, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran on March 4, 2026. (Majid Asgharipour/WANA (West Asia news agency) via Reuters)
“Spain, I think they’ve been very bad,” the president said. “Too bad. Not good at all. We could stop trading with Spain.”
Trump added, “I don’t know what Spain is doing.” “They have been very bad for NATO. They get protection, they don’t want to pay their fair share. And they have been that way for many years.”
Trump said the people of Spain are “fantastic,” while the leadership “is not so good.”
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President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before departure on Marine One from the South Lawn of the White House on Wednesday, March 11, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Senator Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. criticized Spain’s decision to permanently recall its ambassador to Israel on Wednesday, calling it “hard for me to assimilate.”
“Spain is a member of NATO, and the United States and Israel are waging a joint campaign against the Iranian regime, which openly calls for the destruction of the Jewish state, attacks against the West, and purifying Islam in its own image,” Graham wrote on
Spain recalled its ambassador to Israel, the latest flare-up in tense diplomatic relations between the two countries in recent years. (Reuters/Dado Ruvik/Illustration/File photo)
The senator added, “The religious Nazi regime in Iran is the problem, not the Jewish state.” “I hope Spain’s actions will not encourage the tyrannical, fanatical regime in Iran – which abuses its own people – to hang on.”
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Relations between Spain and Israel have deteriorated sharply since Israel launched its military operation in Gaza on October 7, 2023, in response to terrorist attacks by Hamas.
Israel also reduced its diplomatic presence in Spain last May and reduced its own embassy in Madrid to a chargé d’affaires after Spain recognized Palestinian statehood.
