Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez asserted on Tuesday that the widespread power outage that struck the Iberian Peninsula on Monday was not linked to any shortage of nuclear energy in Spain, dismissing criticism from the far-right Vox party.

Speaking at a press conference, Sánchez stated, “Nuclear energy production would not have been more resilient than other electricity sources in the face of Monday’s massive outage.” He added, “Those who connect this incident to a shortage of nuclear power are either lying publicly or demonstrating ignorance.”

Spain, along with Portugal and parts of southern France, experienced a major blackout on Monday, sparking political debate over energy sources and emergency response strategies.