The Spanish government anticipates "resilience" in tourist activity in the face of the conflict in the Middle East. And it not only clings to the estimates for this Easter week, which are "fantastic" in the words of the Minister of Industry and Tourism, Jordi Hereu, but also to an "ability to adapt and resist" of a sector that in recent years has overcome crises such as the Covid-19 pandemic. "The situation is completely different [to that of the coronavirus]. It cannot be compared," Hereu said at a press conference this Tuesday, after the cabinet meeting. The minister, who appeared precisely to explain the current pulse of tourism and the forecasts for this Easter week, acknowledged that there is concern about the impact of the conflict, but linked it to "secondary effects" that will depend on how long the war drags on. "We are analyzing with the sector [the current situation] and what might happen if the conflict lasts not weeks, but months," he said. For example, if this scenario leads to an even more severe price crisis.

The war in Iran threatens to cause an economic meltdown even worse than that resulting from the 1973 oil crisis. This was the warning issued Monday by Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA). Almost a month after the first US and Israeli attacks on Iran, we review the key events of a war that has already put the global economy on alert and could have significant geopolitical consequences.

The association dedicated to promoting internationalized industry, Amec, asserted on Monday that the war in the Middle East is a "temporary" problem and that 30 percent of its 500 members have considered revising their 2026 forecasts downward. Amec's CEO, Joan Tristany, argued that "the structural conflict is Chinese competition," and that due to the tariffs imposed by the United States government, Chinese products are "everywhere." In fact, in 2025, despite Donald Trump's tariff war, Amec members' exports increased by 5.54%, a growth that Tristan considers "surprising and extraordinary" given the international geopolitical landscape. However, according to the report prepared by the association and published on Monday, companies have grown during 2025, although the "playing field is shifting," as Tristan explained during the presentation. However, he points out that, looking ahead to this year, companies are working with "ambition and caution."

As the hours pass, more details are emerging about the measures the Spanish government is considering to address the energy crisis stemming from the war in the Middle East. While on Thursday, Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo hinted at specific aid for the sectors hardest hit by rising fuel prices—agriculture and road transport, among others—on Friday, the Minister for Ecological Transition, Sara Aagesen, raised the possibility of reducing the government's VAT rate in 2021, when energy prices skyrocketed. "Yes, we are also considering this measure," Aagesen told the media on Friday morning. In 2025, the VAT on electricity returned to 21%, ending the tax reductions of recent years.

The United States, in the midst of its war with Iran, is running short on air defense systems. This is demonstrated by this week's announcement to relocate these systems from South Korea to the Middle East. Seoul's conservative government has protested the decision, which exposes it to an attack from North Korea and raises serious questions about Donald Trump's commitment to his long-standing ally. Specifically, the Pentagon is moving the two most advanced types of air defense systems in the world: the THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) missile system and the Patriot missile batteries. The Pentagon has seven THAAD systems, two of them in Asia: one on the island of Guam in the Western Pacific, serving as a deterrent against China, and the one previously located in South Korea, to prevent a North Korean attack. The remaining systems are currently distributed among five air defense regiments, one of them in Israel.

Wonderful news has reached us from the Middle East. Twenty camels have been disqualified from a beauty contest, the 2026 Camel Beauty Festival, held in Muscat, the capital of Oman. The animals, who were probably participating unwittingly, and whose gender is unknown, had been "touched up" with Botox to make them more attractive.

"Trump's best foreign policy? Not starting wars. JD Vance The Wall Street Journal (March 2, 2023)

Today we're talking about the Iran-Iraq War, but more and more countries are becoming involved, more civilians are falling victim, and more places on the world map have been marked by acts of war, making the conflict less regional and more global. And it's all likely to get worse, because Russia and China have, for the moment, remained in the declaration phase.

The day after Pedro Sánchez's "No to war"The Spanish government has announced it will send military support to Cyprus and is becoming involved for the first time in the Iran-Iraq War. Spain's participation will be strictly defensive, aimed at protecting a European Union member state. Furthermore, it will collaborate jointly with other European partners, such as Italy and the Netherlands. This aid will be in addition to that already sent this week by France, Greece, and the United Kingdom. Specifically, the Spanish government will send a warship. Christopher Columbus, which will accompany the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle and other ships of the Greek Navy. The frigate joined the Naval Group on March 3 to perform escort, protection, and advanced training duties in the Baltic Sea. Now, the group will head towards the Eastern Mediterranean to reach the coast of Crete around March 10. In addition to the Christopher ColumbusThe supply ship will also briefly put to sea. Cantabriato supply fuel and provide logistical support during the Naval Group's transit through the Gulf of Cádiz.

The US-Israeli coalition's attack on Iran and the assassination of the supreme leader of the religious regime has shaken the region and unleashed a war in the Middle East. Israel has deployed additional brigades in southern Lebanon, while the Shiite militia Hezbollah has responded with rockets and drones against northern Israel. Furthermore, the airstrikes have also hit dozens of targets in Iran and Lebanon, resulting in hundreds of casualties since the start of the offensive.

The prose of war is written in numbers. 555 deaths in two and a half days of attacks on Iran by Israel and the US, according to Red Crescent data. Among this trail of corpses are Ayatollah Khamenei (a tyrant who deserved his end) and a good portion of his regime's leadership, but the majority are civilians, including a large number of children, such as the 85 girls who died when a primary school in the city of Minab was bombed. "People die in wars. These things happen," Trump asserted, while broadcasting his propaganda messages for Operation Epic Fury (the names of American military interventions in other countries are always as pompous as they are ridiculous, and could fill an anthology). It's the same thing he said when he received the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, responsible for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi: "These things happen," Trump remarked.

As if the problems we have weren't enough, a new one has begun. New war in the Middle EastI say new because the Gaza conflict, so to speak, is still smoldering. The US-Israeli coalition attacked Iran and killed the supreme leader of the religious regime; Iran retaliated and fired on the Persian Gulf countries, and This morning, Israel attacked Hezbollah in LebanonTrump spoke tonight of another four weeks of war. Initial reports indicate 550 deaths. The price of oil will riseAnd the stock markets have already fallen this morning.

Less than 100 meters from the British Museum, in the iconic London Review Bookshop, one of the first titles a customer encounters upon entering is the new edition of a 1979 classic. The PalestiniansThe book, written by journalist Jonathan Dimbleby and illustrated by photographer Don McCullin, began with a prologue explaining why the book was necessary at that time. Words that, almost half a century later, still resonate powerfully.

The Iranian crisis The situation has spilled over from the domestic sphere and is now impacting the Gulf's military map. Tehran warned several countries in the region on Wednesday, including Qatar, that US bases on their territory will be attacked if Washington launches an operation against Iran. The message, transmitted through diplomatic channels and confirmed by regional sources to Reuters, explicitly mentions facilities in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, and Qatar. Doha, the capital, is home to Al Udeid, the largest US air base in the Middle East and the operational center of US Central Command. The facility houses approximately 10,000 personnel and is a key component of the White House's military projection in the region. The Iranian warning is not abstract. Security advisor Ali Shamkhani publicly recalled the limited—and previously announced—attack that Tehran launched In June of last year, an attack was launched against Al Udeid in retaliation for the US bombing of Iranian facilities during the Twelve-Day War with Israel. The incident, which caused no casualties and was intercepted by Qatari defenses, remains an operational precedent. In this new context, diplomatic sources have indicated that some US personnel at the base have been advised to leave temporarily, a precautionary adjustment rather than a full evacuation. The British also withdrew some of their personnel.