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Iran–Spain relations are the bilateral anddiplomatic relations between these two countries.Iran has an embassy inMadrid,[1] andSpain has an embassy inTehran.[2] The relations between Iran and Spain span centuries and reflect an indirect interaction between the two. A major shift occurred in the early Islamic period, when Persian administrators, scholars, and artisans became deeply involved in the governance and cultural flowering ofAl-Andalus (Islamic Spain).
Persian intellectual traditions—astronomy, medicine, literature, philosophy—significantly influenced Andalusian scholarship. Many prominent scholars in Muslim Spain were of Iranian origin or trained in Persian-influenced intellectual circles. The poetic and musical heritage of Al-Andalus also absorbed Persian elements, helping shape its distinctive literary style.
TheSafavid Empire established more structured contact with Europe. Spain, under theHabsburgs, viewed Safavid Iran as a strategic partner against theOttoman Empire. Although geographic distance limited direct cooperation, both sides engaged in diplomatic exchanges, often mediated by missionaries or ambassadors traveling throughRome andVenice. Spanish Jesuits and other Catholic orders visited the Safavid court, documenting Persian society, art, and religion.
Modern diplomatic relations began in the 19th century. In the mid-1800s,Qajar Iran and theKingdom of Spain initiated official state relations through the exchange of diplomatic missions and treaties. Iran and Spain developed stronger cultural ties, and Spain became a center forIranology, with several institutions studying Persian history, archaeology, and literature.
Diplomatic relations between Spain and Iran are strong. Both countries have formed several bilateral pacts, particularly the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation from 1977, which lays out the foundation for cooperation in different areas.[3]
The IranianAlans were one of the people groups to settle Spain after the fall of theRoman Empire, but both countries have experienced Arab conquest after the initial expansion of Islam in the 700s. After the outbreak of a revolution in Arab-occupied Iran, theUmayyad Caliph fled toSpain.Timur, theTransoxanian ruler of Iran, bestowed a high position of honor to theCastilian Ambassador in the early 15th century, an affront to theChinese ambassador.[4]
When theOttomans began threateningEurope, Western kingdoms including Spain looked to Iran as a potentialally against the Ottomans; Charles, then king of Spain asCharles I, sent an envoy to the Shah of Iran in 1516-1519 with this purpose in mind. On 18 February 1529,Charles V, deeply alarmed by theOttoman progression towards Vienna, again sent a letter fromToledo to Shah Ismail, who had died in 1524 and had been replaced byShah Tahmasp, pleading for a military diversion.[5][6][7] His ambassador to the Shah was theknight of Saint John de Balbi, and an alliance was made with the objective of making an attack on the Ottoman Empire in the west and the east within the following year.[8][7][9] Tahmasp also responded by expressing his friendship to the Emperor.[6] A decision was thus taken to attack the Ottoman Empire on both fronts,[10] but Balbi took more than one year to return to the Iran, and by that time the situation had changed in Iran, as Iran was forced to make peace with the Ottoman Empire because of an insurrection of theShaybanidUzbeks.[8] Contacts heightened with thePersian embassy to Europe (1599-1602), the final portion of which took place in Spain, where the Iranians met with kingPhilip III, and obtained seaborne transportation from Portugal to theStrait of Hormuz andPersia.[11] In a final incident however, one of the members of the embassy, a religiousmullah, was stabbed to death by a Spaniard inMérida.[12] The Iranians sent anotherembassy after 1609, but relations worsened whenShah Abbas seizedPortuguese Hormuz.
Iran and Spain were among the only few countries to protest the 18th-centurypartitions of Poland.[13][14]
During theprotests in Iran of 2021-2022, Spain, together with most European countries, condemned the theocratic government's repression of Iranian protestors.[15]
Spain's Senate Foreign Affairs approved a motion on February 2025 condemning executions and human rights violations in Iran, in addition to urging the Spanish government to apply greater diplomatic pressure on the Iranian government. The initiative received unanimous support from all parliamentary groups in the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee. The text supports the democratic aspirations of the Iranian people, including gender equality, the abolition of the death penalty, and the separation of religion and state, in line with the ten-point program ofMaryam Rajavi.[16][17]
Iran was among the three largest suppliers of crude oil to Spain in 2011, with almost 14% of imported oil. The situation changed radically with the approval of EU sanctions, which led to the total cessation of these imports. Spain has been the second EU country most affected afterGreece and Italy.
In 2011, the last year before the sanctions, Spanish exports to Iran reached €655.3M, increasing by 33.2% against a 7.3% drop in the EU. Between 2009 and 2011, Spanish exports to Iran grew by almost 50%. In a global context, Spain accounted for 0.8% of total Iranian imports in 2011 and was the 21st supplier. For Spain, Iran was the 46th largest customer in the world, with 0.31% of total exports Spanish.[18]
In 2024 the Shipping Association of Iran signed a memorandum of understanding with the Advanced Training Course in Transport and Logistics in Spain to enhance bilateral relations and improve training programs in the maritime transport sector.[19]
Tehran and Madrid held discussions in September 2024 to enhance cooperation between their think tanks. In a meeting with the Yazd Chamber of Commerce representatives, Spain's ambassador to IranAntonio Sánchez-Benedito expressed his commitment to strengthening academic ties with Tehran. TheElcano Royal Institute also expressed a strong interest in working with Iranian researchers, policymakers, and think tanks on issues of mutual importance.[20]
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