Spanish PM Sánchez says it's 'unfair' for people around the world to bear cost of U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran

Spanish PM Sánchez says it's 'unfair' for people around the world to bear cost of U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, ahead of a roundtable at a European Union leaders' summit in Brussels, Belgium, March 19, 2026.
Reuters

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has said it is unfair for people around the world to shoulder the cost of U.S.–Israeli attacks on Iran, warning that Spanish firms have already lost €100 billion ($116 billion) in less than a month as a result of the conflict.

“Every bomb that falls in the Middle East hits the wallets of our families,” Sánchez told the Spanish Parliament in Madrid on Wednesday (25 March), as he set out the reasons for his Socialist-led government’s opposition to the conflict.

“It is not fair that someone sets fire to the world and the rest of us have to swallow the ashes,” he added.

The €100 billion figure referred to the decline in the aggregate market capitalisation of Spain's blue‑chip IBEX index since Israel and the U.S. attacked Iran on 28 February. 

Spain’s Parliament is expected to vote on a package aimed at helping citizens weather the economic fallout of the Middle East conflict on Thursday. The measures include reductions to fuel and electricity taxes and fuel subsidies to sectors most exposed to energy price spikes.

Sánchez, one of the most vocal supporters of Palestinians among Western leaders, also warned that Israel was seeking to inflict as much harm in Lebanon as it had in Gaza.

“An emboldened Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, aims to inflict on Lebanon the same destruction and suffering that was committed in Gaza,” he said.

On Tuesday, Israel’s Defence Minister announced the country’s intention to occupy southern Lebanon as part of its campaign against the Iran-backed Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.

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