Speaking in Madrid, Iranian Ambassador to Spain Reza Zabib claimed that Iran does not want war but “has the capacity” to react to aggression, even suggesting that any US military base in Europe could be a target.
Iran has the capability to attack any US military base in Europe “without it mattering where” and “if necessary,” the Iranian Ambassador to Spain Reza Zabib said Monday.
However, doing so “would be a reaction, not an act of aggression,” the senior diplomat added when speaking at a press conference in Madrid.
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“We are a country capable of reacting,” Zabib said, “although I hope there will be no need to do so”.
He also stated that he has no “technical” information about recent Iranian attacks on a British base in Cyprus but that “it would be in line with Iran’s general rule to react to illegal aggression.”
The ambassador also confirmed that he will attend a meeting with Spain’s Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares, who summoned him on Monday to convey Spain’s rejection and condemnation of Iran’s “unjustified” actions against Gulf countries and to demand that they cease “immediately”.
READ ALSO: Does Spain have its own anti-missile ‘Iron Dome’?
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Zabib repeatedly called for peace in the press conference, as well as respect for human rights and international law, and reinforced Iran’s refusal to negotiate with the US with a “categorical no” because “there is no room to negotiate with the aggressor”.
Asked about the US bases in Rota and Morón in Spain, which Spain recently ruled out allowing US military operations to be launched from the bases, he replied noncommittally: “The general rule for us is we will respond to any action, without it mattering where.”
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However, Zabib did say that “we value the Spanish government’s reaction against the aggression. The aggression was rejected, and this is valuable to us.”
The Spanish government this week refused to authorise the US to use its bases in Spain “for the war against Iran” as “this can only be done when operating within international law, not when an army acts unilaterally”, a position welcomed by the Iranian embassy.
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The decision has caused outrage among some in Washington, notably Republican Senator and Trump ally Lindsey Graham, who served in the US military at bases in Spain.
READ ALSO: Where are the US military bases in Spain and why are they there?
Posting on social media, Graham stated: “During my time in the U.S. Air Force in the mid-80s when I was assigned as a prosecutor in Europe at the height of the Cold War, I was tasked to American air bases in Spain as a part of my legal duties.
I have great admiration for the Spanish people and they have been great allies in the past. However, the current government in Spain is becoming the gold standard of pathetically weak European leadership that has lost its moral way, apparently reluctant to condemn the terrorist regime in Iran and have nothing but criticism for the United States.”
During my time in the U.S. Air Force in the mid-80s when I was assigned as a prosecutor in Europe at the height of the Cold War, I was tasked to American air bases in Spain as a part of my legal duties. I have great admiration for the Spanish people and they have been great…
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) March 2, 2026
