New Delhi: Shurat HaDin, an Israeli law centre and NGO, has filed a complaint at the International Criminal Court in Hague against Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez for allegedly exporting to Iran “dual-use components related to explosives worth 1.3 million euros in 2024 and 2025”.
The complaint calls on prosecutors to consider opening criminal proceedings against Sánchez and other senior Spanish officials. According to the filing, declared Tuesday, these materials were transferred under circumstances in which their potential use in attacks on civilians was foreseeable. The complaint argues that providing components essential to weapons systems could constitute aiding and abetting war crimes or crimes against humanity.
Shurat HaDin also made unverified claims that Iran has long supplied armed groups such as Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis, and that such networks rely on the types of components referenced in the complaint.
The complaint cites statements by opposition figures in Spain who have criticised the government’s approach to Iran, as well as Iranian media reports displaying imagery linking Sánchez to the country’s missile programme—a claim presented as symbolic of perceived political alignment.
The complaint comes as Sánchez has taken an increasingly vocal stance on international conflicts. In a visit to China this week, he described Beijing as a key potential mediator in the war involving Iran and tensions over the strategic Strait of Hormuz, saying it was difficult to identify other actors capable of resolving the crisis.
“I find it very difficult to find other interlocutors, beyond China, who can resolve this situation in Iran and the Strait of Hormuz,” he asserted, adding that his country wants to avoid impunity for those who commit crimes in places like Gaza where, he said, a “genocide” had been committed.
“International law is being violated today, fundamentally by one country: the government of Israel,” he added. “There is also an absolutely illegal response from the Iranian regime regarding a war that we have described from the very beginning as a mistake and an illegality. Those of us who raise our voice against governments violating international law are being threatened.”
Shurat HaDin’s main claim is that Spain frequently criticises Israel publicly and restricts access to American bases, but has provided military help to Iran.
Spain has been dubbed “Europe’s conscience” after Sánchez positioned his country as an outspoken critic of attacks on Gaza and Lebanon.
“Europe’s challenge is not only to rearm itself to address its security and defence problems, but to also rearm itself morally, so that it can contribute to stable and peaceful development throughout the world,” Sánchez said this week at a European forum.
After joint strikes by the US and Israel on Iran in end-February, Sánchez condemned the action as “unjustified and dangerous”, later describing it as “absurd, cruel and illegal”, and in violation of international law.
He also moved swiftly to deny US forces permission to use jointly operated military bases in Spain for launching attacks.
The ICC is currently investigating alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Palestine, focusing on actions by both Israel and Hamas dating back to June 2014, with particular attention to events following 7 October, 2023, and the subsequent war in Gaza.
In late 2024, the court issued arrest warrants for Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant on charges including murder and the use of starvation as a method of warfare.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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