Spanish prime minister says Israel wants to inflict on Lebanon 'same destruction' as in Gaza

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez warns that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu aims to inflict on Lebanon the same destruction Israel caused in Gaza, while describing Iran's new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei as even more hardline than his father.

Victoria Waldersee/Reuters

March 25, 2026

Spanish prime minister says Israel wants to inflict on Lebanon 'same destruction' as in Gaza

FILE PHOTO: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez speaks during a press conference after attending a special summit of European Union leaders to discuss transatlantic relations following U.S. President Donald Trump's threats to impose new tariffs on goods from a list of EU countries over his demand to acquire Greenland, in Brussels, Belgium January 23, 2026.

Yves Herman/Reuters

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "seeks to inflict the same level of damage and destruction" on Lebanon as Israeli forces had wrought on the Gaza Strip, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told lawmakers on Wednesday.

Sanchez, who appeared before the lower house to explain his government's stance against the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, added that Iran's new Supreme Leader was more hardline than his predecessor.

"Mojtaba Khamenei is an equally dictatorial and even more bloodthirsty tyrant than his father," Sanchez said.

-Victoria Waldersee/Reuters