Spain’s Pedro Sanchez has been scrutinized amid the Trump controversy, with critics calling the situation a smokescreen

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez of Spain has tried to position himself as a European counterweight to President Donald Trump, but his intentions are being questioned by critics.

Sanchez, who is hosting a conference of left-wing leaders from around the world in Barcelona this weekend, rejected an increase in Madrid’s NATO spending while pitting Spain against the Trump administration on key policy issues.

Recently, the Spanish politician has taken a strong stance against the military campaign of the US and Israel against the Iranian regime, forbidding the US from using its military bases in Spain to replenish aircraft or prepare for military action, criticizing the campaign as illegal while remaining silent on the regime’s killing of thousands of protesters and its increasing drive to produce ballistic missiles and obtain enriched uranium for nuclear weapons.

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A few days after the start of the war with Iran, Sanchez said, “We will not be involved in something bad in the world and against our values ​​and our interests, just because of the fear of retaliation from the other,” said Sánchez, using the slogan “No to war,” reported the Associated Press.

On Saturday, Trump targeted Sanchez’s policies in a Truth Social post, asking: “Has anyone looked at how bad Spain is doing. Their financial numbers, despite giving almost nothing to NATO and their military defense, are absolutely horrible. It’s sad to watch!!!”

In March, Trump said he had asked Treasury Secretary Scott Bessen to “cut off all dealings with Spain.”

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Critics have accused Sanchez, already well-known for his anti-Israel views, of increasing his public statements to take pressure off of a series of corruption scandals involving family members, which he and his supporters have denied.

TOPSHOT – The Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sanchez gave a speech announcing that Spain will recognize Palestine as a state on May 28, at the Congress of Deputies in Madrid on May 22, 2024. “danger” with his policy of “pain and destruction” in the Gaza Strip. (Thomas Coex/AFP via Getty Images)

Javier Negre, a conservative Spanish journalist and owner of La Derecha Diario and UHN Plus told Fox News Digital. “The situation of President Pedro Sánchez against President Donald Trump is not developed and it is not based on his beliefs. It is only marketing for the elections. You have seen that by confronting the most powerful president in the world and making Trump talk about him, he achieves two things: first, he positions himself in the media as the leading figure of the left in the world and the whole world against the new right.”

Negre said that Sánchez’s position also “distracts attention from the scandals of corruption that led to the investigation of his wife and brother and the arrest of people close to him.

A judge in Madrid officially charged Sanchez’s wife, Begona Gomez, with corruption on Monday, creating a political storm for the Prime Minister, who is already embroiled in another corruption case involving his brother.

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Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (R), and his wife Begona Gomez, attend a speech in Beijing, China, April 13, 2026. (Andres Martinez Casares/Pool via Reuters)

Gómez’s 39-page indictment follows a two-year investigation accusing him of fraud, influence peddling in his position at Madrid’s Complutense University, business corruption and misappropriation of funds to advance his interests. She denied all the charges while her husband said the allegations were attempts by opposition parties to undermine his alliance.

The charges came during the couple’s visit to China last week, where Sanchez said, “I find it very difficult to find other negotiators, outside of China, who can resolve the situation in Iran and the Strait of Hormuz,” the Associated Press reported.

The complaint against Gomez was brought by the anti-corruption group Manos Limpias.

The prime minister’s family scandals include his brother, David Sanchez, who was involved in a separate scandal for selling a job in the regional government in 2017, shortly after the Spanish leader became secretary general of Spain’s Socialist Workers Party (PSOE).

From 2018 to 2024, the Sanchez government has reportedly approved the export of $6 million ($7.2 million) in bilateral technical equipment to Iran. Although not a significant amount, the move, critics say, would violate UN-mandated sanctions and embargoes on Iran. Spain’s leading opposition politician Santiago Abascal criticized Sanchez in the Spanish Congress, accusing him of selling explosives and explosives to Iran.

The Spanish protest against Israel. Unions have called for a day of general strike in solidarity with the Palestinians and Lebanon demanding that the Spanish government break ties with Israel. September. 2024. (Marcos del Mazo/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Following the allegations, the Shurat Hadin Israel Law Center filed a complaint at the International Criminal Court in The Hague against the Spanish Prime Minister on Friday, claiming that Spain helped the Ayatollah’s regime by transferring technology related to explosives worth an estimated $1.5 million in 2024 and 2025 despite international sanctions against the government for supporting terrorism.

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In March, the Iranian regime reportedly attached a thank-you note with a picture of Spain’s Sanchez to a missile fired at Israel, according to images from Iran-controlled Press TV obtained by the Middle East Media and Research Institute (MEMRI.)

The Spanish leader has also faced criticism for his anti-Israel views and his war on Gaza after the Palestinian terror group Hamas carried out the worst attack in the history of the Jewish state, killing 1,195 people and kidnapping 251 people and foreigners in 2023.

Sanchez has repeatedly called Israel a state of genocide, reduced Spain’s political relations with Jerusalem, imposed total arms embargoes and sanctions on the Jewish government, recognized the state of Palestine, despite widespread opposition, and together with Belgium, received praise from Hamas for its “clear and courageous stance regarding the war in Gaza” since the beginning of the conflict.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez arrives at the EU Summit in Brussels, Thursday, March 21, 2024. European Union leaders are meeting to consider new ways to help increase the production of weapons and ammunition in Ukraine. Leaders will also discuss at Thursday’s summit the war in Gaza amid growing concern over Israel’s plans to launch a ground attack on the town of Rafah.

Although still popular on the left, the Spanish politician has seen a steady decline in his popularity over the past few months, as 61% of Spaniards have a negative opinion of their prime minister, according to a YouGov poll from March – his lowest approval ratings since taking office in 2018.

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Fox News Digital reached out to La Moncloa (the Spanish Prime Minister’s office) and the Spanish foreign minister with a request for an interview or official comment about Sanchez’s diplomatic positions related to the wars in the Middle East, the alleged sale of technology to Iran, the use of American forces of bases built under NATO on Spanish territory, and relations with the White House.

Spanish authorities told Fox News Digital, “the prime minister was not giving new talks due to conflicts in his schedule” and that information about the prime minister’s positions “can be found in his many public announcements over the past few days.”