U.S. President Donald Trump said that Spain had “got in line” after he criticized Madrid for refusing to support the operation in Iran and threatened to cut off trade.

“We had problems, and we still do, but Spain got in line. I said I would cut off trade. They agreed to make a large payment, otherwise we wouldn’t even be talking to them,” Bloomberg quoted Trump as saying.

The U.S. president had previously also said that Spain was not a good ally for the United States in the North Atlantic Alliance. U.S. Permanent Representative to NATO Matthew Whitaker had earlier indicated that Washington was disappointed by Spain’s actions during the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran and by Madrid’s unwillingness to increase military spending to 5% of GDP. Trump criticized Madrid for refusing to support the operation in Iran and threatened to sever trade ties.