Huelva, Spain, March 6, 2026 (Lusa) - The Portuguese prime minister, Luís Montenegro, on Friday argued that the United States is "an indispensable ally," but also implicitly criticised the American president's threats to Spain in the conflict in Iran.
Luís Montenegro was speaking at the joint press conference of the 36th Luso-Spanish Summit, alongside Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, which took place this morning in Huelva (Spain) and focused on climate security, but ended up being dominated, during the question and answer session, by the conflict in the Middle East.
The Portuguese prime minister rejected the idea that the Iran issue is a problem in relations with Spain, expressing "total respect" for Sánchez's positions on foreign policy and saying he even wanted to "ease the tension".
"Threats and accusations are not the way forward between allies," said Montenegro, after being questioned about Donald Trump's threat of reprisals against Spain.
Meanwhile, the Spanish prime minister reiterated that the war in the Middle East, is an "extraordinary mistake" and illegal, in a statement alongside his Portuguese counterpart, Luís Montenegro.
Regarding the Portuguese government's position on the conflict, Pedro Sánchez said only that "each country's foreign policy is decided by each government," after being questioned by journalists at the press conference of the Iberian summit taking place today in Huelva, southern Spain.
The Spanish Prime Minister insisted that the war was started "clearly outside international law"’.
"This war is an extraordinary mistake, for which we will pay and are already paying," he said, referring to the impact the conflict is already having on the increase in oil and gas prices, but also in terms of fatalities, "pain and suffering" in the Middle East.
Sánchez has condemned the US and Israeli attacks on Iran, considering them a violation of international law, and the Spanish government has refused to allow the Americans to use military bases on Spanish territory for these operations. In response, US President Donald Trump threatened Spain with reprisals.
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