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Pedro Sánchez downplays Pentagon leak, reaffirms Spain’s stance on NATO and Iran war

24 April 2026 13:24 (UTC +04:00)

Pedro Sánchez has responded this Friday to the information about an internal Pentagon email that outlines possible measures against Spain for its position on the Iran war, including the country's suspension from NATO, Democrata reports.

The Prime Minister of Spain has avoided raising the tone and has placed the Spanish position in the realm of official documents, not leaks or internal communications.

Upon his arrival at the informal meeting of European Union leaders in Cyprus, Sánchez has defended that the Spanish Government maintains a clear position regarding its international alliances, but also regarding the legal framework in which military operations must be developed.

“We do not work on emails, we work on official documents and positions taken in this case by the United States Government,” stated the Prime Minister of Spain when asked about information regarding an internal Pentagon email.

With that answer, Sánchez has tried to reduce the immediate dimension of the controversy and prevent an internal communication attributed to the US Department of Defense from becoming a formal diplomatic crisis before there is an official position from Washington.

The phrase marks the axis of the Executive's reaction: Spain does not officially acknowledge being affected by a leak, but it does not renounce defending its political and legal position on the Iran war.

The PM has insisted that the Spanish position does not imply a break with NATO or with allies. “The position of the Government of Spain is clear: absolute collaboration with the allies, but always within the framework of international legality,” Sánchez has defended.

That nuance is the political core of the message. Spain maintains its commitment to the Atlantic Alliance, but rejects that this commitment implies facilitating military operations that the Government considers outside the framework of international legality.

The response comes after Reuters reported on an internal Pentagon email in which formulas are studied to punish allied countries that would not have given sufficient support to United States operations in the war against Iran.