"Dozens of peace activists rallied outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Madrid on Wednesday, chanting anti-war and anti-NATO slogans ahead of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky's visit, who is seeking to strengthen ties. Footage shows protesters holding banners and placards chanting, 'Fascist Zelensky out of Madrid', 'No to NATO, bases out', 'Fascists out of the streets of Madrid', 'Iran, Iran, your people will prevail' and 'Lebanon, Iran, international dignity', among others. One demonstrator criticised Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's government for its alleged funding of war in Ukraine while allocating a budget towards the military to meet the demands of organisations like NATO. "On top of that, it keeps us in a criminal organisation like NATO, which is forcing us to allocate 5 per cent of this country's annual wealth - 5 per cent of what we workers produce in a year, year after year - nto spending on weapons to attack people who have done us absolutely nothing," she said. Another protester called on European leaders to be hypocritical and have double-standard policies when it comes to supporting war in Ukraine and the conflict with Iran. "I am outraged by what Pedro Sanchez has done when just a few days earlier he was talking about stopping the war. Stopping the war where, Mr Pedro Sanchez? Where do you want to stop the war? In Iran? Well, no, the war must be stopped all over the world, including in Ukraine," the man said. "I believe that, in fact, I believe Europe is cowering; it is cowering and is being totally submissive to NATO and the world war that is looming over us," added another protester. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Sener Aerospace & Defence in Madrid on Wednesday. His trip includes meetings with Sanchez, Congress Speaker Francina Armengol, Senate President Pedro Rollan, and King Felipe VI. The protest followed after NATO ally Spain decided not to participate in any military mission in the Strait of Hormuz, deeming the US-Israeli war on Iran 'illegal'. The coalition government led by Sanchez earlier criticised the offensive and prohibited US aircraft from using jointly operated bases in southern Spain. An escalating conflict that began after Israel and the US launched strikes on Iran on 28 February, which killed Ali Khamenei, the country’s supreme leader. Iran later announced retaliatory missile and drone attacks targeting Israeli territory and US military assets across the region, with explosions reported in several Gulf countries. Following Khamenei’s death, Mojtaba Khamenei was announced as Iran’s new supreme leader. Meanwhile, Donald Trump, president of the United States, said the next Iranian leader would not 'last long' if elected without US approval. The escalation has driven global energy prices higher and disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway that carries roughly 20 per cent of the world’s oil supply. "