U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent doubled down on President Donald Trump’s threat to halt trade with Spain on Wednesday, arguing Madrid had “put American lives at risk” in barring Washington from using jointly operated military bases in Spain to attack Iran.

Any policy that “slows down our ability to engage and prosecute this war in the fastest, most effective manner” poses a threat to Americans, Bessent said during an interview on CNBC.

“The Spanish have been very uncooperative regarding the U.S. bases and what we could do with our aircraft right as we were launching the operation,” he added.

Madrid’s refusal to allow the U.S. to use the Morón de la Frontera and Rota air bases to attack Iran this weekend prompted Trump to threaten to “cut off all trade with Spain” and consider imposing an embargo on the country on Tuesday.

A 1953 agreement with the U.S. gives Spain a say over how American forces stationed on its territory are used. The Trump administration could use claims that Madrid’s measures have endangered Americans to justify the imposition of tariffs on Spain.

Bessent said the threatened economic sanctions reflected Trump’s “frustration” with the government of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. “They’ve been terrible actors,” he added.

The treasury secretary recalled Madrid’s refusal to give in to Washington’s demand that NATO members commit 5 percent of their GDP to military spending, and blasted Spain for being a “free rider.”

“The Spanish don’t want to pay their fair share and they say [they’ve] got the Pyrenees between us and Russia,” Bessent said. “Well, the U.S. has the Atlantic Ocean and we are the largest contributors to NATO.”