Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has said that the attack by the United States and Israel on Iran constitutes ‘a violation of international law’, while making clear that he considers the regime of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — who was killed in Saturday’s attack — to be ‘totalitarian and cruel’.
US President Donald Trump said the death of Ali Khamenei – ‘one of the most evil people in history’ – marked the ‘single greatest chance’ for the Iranian people to overthrow the regime.
Strikes were launched against Tehran, Iran’s capital, and many other cities across the country on Saturday morning after talks over its nuclear programme faltered. Iran retaliated by hitting countries including Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, as well as Israel.
After confirming Khamenei’s ‘martyrdom’ via Iranian state television, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) vowed to initiate ‘the most devastating offensive operation in the history of the Islamic Republic of Iran’ in response, targeting American military bases and ‘occupied territories’.
Hours later, on Sunday morning, explosions were heard over Dubai, Doha, Bahrain and Iraq, while sirens sounded across Israel instructing residents to enter bomb shelters.
PM Sánchez made his remarks to reporters in Barcelona ahead of attending the 40th edition of Spain’s Goya film awards. Asked about the strikes, the prime minister described the situation in the Middle East as ‘deeply concerning’ because ‘once again, we are talking about a violation of international law’.
He issued ‘a call for de-escalation and respect for international law’, warning that violence will only lead to further violence and greater suffering for Iranian society, ‘which is already enduring repression under an absolutely totalitarian and cruel regime, particularly towards women’.
‘Of course we reject and repudiate that regime,’ Sánchez added, ‘but at the same time we must denounce this violation of international law, which will bring nothing positive — neither for the region, nor for its citizens, nor for the world’.
Sánchez argued that Spain ‘has been very consistent over all these years — whether in Gaza, Ukraine, Venezuela or now Iran — in advocating diplomacy, peace, international law, and the pursuit of peaceful ways to resolve the conflicts facing societies’.
‘Politics must exist to solve problems, not to create them; to provide solutions, not to impose the rule of the strongest,’ he told journalists.
He also recalled that the deadline for the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty expired in February, saying that ‘the major nuclear powers must sign an agreement, sit down to negotiate, reach a deal to de-escalate, and not expand their arsenals’.
That obligation, he said, ‘also concerns and applies to the United States, of course, as well as to countries such as the Iranian regime, which is seeking, through uranium enrichment, to gain access to nuclear weapons’. ALSO READ: Sánchez at Munich security conference: EU must strengthen its defence, but ‘nuclear rearmament not the way’.
Posting on social media, Sánchez also wrote: ‘We reject the unilateral military action by the United States and Israel, which represents an escalation and contributes to a more uncertain and hostile international order. We likewise reject the actions of the Iranian regime and the Revolutionary Guard. We cannot afford another prolonged and devastating war in the Middle East. We demand immediate de-escalation and full respect for international law. It is time to resume dialogue and achieve a lasting political solution for the region.’
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said: ‘The developments in Iran are greatly concerning. We remain in close contact with our partners in the region. We reaffirm our steadfast commitment to safeguarding regional security and stability.’
‘Ensuring nuclear safety and preventing any actions that could further escalate tensions or undermine the global non-proliferation regime is of critical importance,’ she said. ‘The European Union has adopted extensive sanctions in response to the actions of Iran’s murderous regime and the Revolutionary Guards and has consistently promoted diplomatic efforts aimed at addressing the nuclear and ballistic programmes through a negotiated solution.’
‘I am convening a special Security College on Monday,’ she added. ‘For regional security and stability, it is of the utmost importance that there is no further escalation through Iran’s unjustified attacks on partners in the region.
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President Donald J. Trump Monitors U.S. Military Operations in Iran: Operation Epic Fury, February 28, 2026 pic.twitter.com/OfnMkmBZ8G
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 28, 2026
Rechazamos la acción militar unilateral de EE.UU. e Israel, que supone una escalada y contribuye a un orden internacional más incierto y hostil.
— Pedro Sánchez (@sanchezcastejon) February 28, 2026
Rechazamos igualmente las acciones del régimen iraní y de la Guardia Revolucionaria. No podemos permitirnos otra guerra prolongada y…
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