Spain refuses to 'applaud those who set the world on fire' despite welcoming US-Iran ceasefire

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez welcomed the US-Iran ceasefire on Wednesday but said it does not merit praise “just because they show up with a bucket.”

"The Government of Spain will not applaud those who set the world on fire just because they show up with a bucket. What’s needed now: diplomacy, international legality, and PEACE," Sanchez wrote on US social media platform X.

Reaffirming that the ceasefire is good news, he warned that the momentary relief should not lead them to forget "the chaos, the destruction, and the lives lost."

"Diplomacy, negotiation, and international law are the only paths to the lasting peace that the citizens of the Middle East deserve. All parties must show responsibility and commitment to ceasing attacks and de-escalating, which Spain will continue to support," Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares also wrote on X.

Later speaking on Radio Nacional de Espana, Albares argued that it is "still too early" to know where the mediation efforts will end.

"We are still far from peace; this step is not the final one, but it is absolutely necessary," he said.

Albares also pointed to the situation in Lebanon, stressing "it is unacceptable that Israel's invasion of a sovereign country (...) and the indiscriminate bombing of the civilian population in Beirut continue."​​​​​​​​​​​​​​