Closing summary
… and on that note, it’s a wrap for today!
For all the latest updates from Iran and the region, follow our Middle East blog here:
And here is our summary of the day in Europe:
France (13:53), Italy (10:56, 11:51, 16:04) and Spain (11:11) are sending reinforcements to the Middle East to protect their citizens and partner countries in the region, primarily Cyprus.
Nato secretary general Mark Rutte has confirmed that the Turkish interception of a ballistic missile launched from Iran was a “serious” security incident, as he condemned the attack (12:00).
Spanish authorities also emphatically dismissed White House suggestions that the administration has executed a U-turn and is now prepared to let the US use its bases to strike Iran (9:49, 10:00), with a number of senior EU officials backing Madrid against US threats on trade (10:53, 12:19).
Ukraine was in talks with the US and a number of Gulf countries about using its practical experience of dealing with the Iranian Shahed drones, the country’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed (10:28).
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Spain's conservatives criticised for 'grubby politics' after misleadingly captioning comments in social video amid Trump tensions
in Madrid
Meanwhile, Spain’s conservative People’s party (PP) has been accused of practising grubby politics after it put out a social media post incorrectly suggesting the country’s defence minister had told the new US ambassador in Madrid that she was “with [Donald] Trump”.
The PP published a three-second video of a meeting in Madrid on Wednesday between Margarita Robles and Benjamín León Jr, which took place amid escalating tensions between the US and Spain over the latter’s refusal to allow bases in Andalucía to be used in Washington’s continuing strikes on Iran.
According to the PP’s subtitled video, Robles told León: “No, no. Estoy con Trump. Lo que pasa que a veces aquí la gente …” That translates as: “No, no, I’m with Trump. The things is that here people sometimes …”
The PP suggested the phrase in question was evidence of the socialist-led government’s hypocrisy and double-dealing on the very day that the prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, excoriated Trump and his attack on Iran.
However, Robles and her ministry said the PP had misheard her remarks and that she had actually been discussing the temperature in the meeting room with the new ambassador. Far from saying, “estoy con Trump”, they clarified, she had actually said, “estoy cómoda” (“I’m comfortable”).
Elsewhere in the video, Robles can be heard saying that she’s going to have the heating turned down, to which the ambassador replies: “I’m comfortable, too.”
A longer video of the meeting, published by El País and others, supports the latter version of events.
In an interview with TVE on Thursday morning, Robles accused the PP of “a lack of solidarity with Spain” and said it ought to be ashamed of “doing this kind of politics like this in a context like the one we’re living in”.
It is not the first time that the PP’s social media team has erred.
A year ago, the party pulled a Temptation Island-themed video attacking Sánchez, his wife and his colleagues after the short, AI-generated film provoked an embarrassing diplomatic incident with the Dominican Republic.
Although intended as a domestic jab, the video, posted on the PP’s social media channels, incurred the wrath of the Dominican Republic, where Temptation Island is filmed. The small Caribbean nation, which shares the island of Hispaniola with neighbouring Haiti, was angered by the juxtaposition of its flag and a map of the country with the message: “Once Temptation Island has finished, the new adventures on Corruption Island begin.” The video also made mention of “corruption, lust, ambition and lies”.
The Dominican Republic’s foreign ministry posted an angry message on X, decrying what it called “the malicious and incomprehensible attack” on the country and stressing that it had made great strides in strengthening the rule of law and transparency.
“The exploitation of the country’s image and the distortion of its national symbols is unacceptable – even more so when it’s for domestic Spanish political ends,” it said.
The PP has been contacted for comment.
