An internal email from the Pentagon has unveiled potential strategies for the United States to reprimand NATO allies perceived as unsupportive of its military actions in the conflict with Iran. Among the measures considered are suspending Spain from NATO and reassessing the U.S. stance on Britain’s sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, according to a U.S. official who communicated with Reuters.
The official, who requested anonymity to discuss the contents of the email, mentioned that the policy recommendations stem from dissatisfaction with certain allies’ hesitance or outright refusal to provide the U.S. with access, basing, and overflight rights (ABO) during the Iranian conflict. Such privileges are considered a fundamental expectation within NATO, as highlighted in the email, which is being reviewed by senior Pentagon officials.
One of the proposals circulating suggests that NATO should consider sidelining countries that are deemed uncooperative by excluding them from significant or prestigious roles within the alliance, the official elaborated.
President Donald Trump has been vocal in his criticism of NATO partners for their lack of naval support in reopening the Strait of Hormuz, which was blocked to international shipping after the airstrike campaign commenced on February 28.
Furthermore, Trump has openly contemplated the possibility of the United States withdrawing from the alliance altogether.
He has also declared he is considering withdrawing from the alliance.
“Wouldn’t you if you were me?” Trump asked Reuters in an April 1 interview, in response to a question about whether the US pulling out of NATO was a possibility.
But the email does not suggest that the United States do so, the official said. It also does not propose closing bases in Europe.
The official declined to say whether the options included a widely expected US drawdown of some forces from Europe, however.
Asked for comment on the email, Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson responded: “As President Trump has said, despite everything that the United States has done for our NATO allies, they were not there for us.
“The War Department will ensure that the President has credible options to ensure that our allies are no longer a paper tiger and instead do their part. We have no further comment on any internal deliberations to that effect,” Wilson said.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SEES EUROPEAN ‘SENSE OF ENTITLEMENT’
The US-Israeli war with Iran has raised serious questions about the future of the 76-year-old bloc and provoked unprecedented concern that the US might not come to the aid of European allies should they be attacked, analysts and diplomats say.
Britain, France and others say that joining the US naval blockade would amount to entering the war, but that they would be willing to help keep the Strait open once there was a lasting cease-fire or the conflict ended.
But Trump administration officials have stressed that NATO cannot be a one-way street.
They have expressed frustration with Spain, where the Socialist leadership said it would not allow its bases or airspace to be used to attack Iran. The United States has two important military bases in Spain: Naval Station Rota and Morón Air Base.
The policy options outlined in the email would be intended to send a strong signal to NATO allies with the goal of “decreasing the sense of entitlement on the part of the Europeans,” the official said, summarizing the email.
The option to suspend Spain from the alliance would have a limited effect on US military operations but a significant symbolic impact, the email argues.
The official did not disclose how the United States might pursue suspending Spain from the alliance, and Reuters could not immediately determine whether there was an existing mechanism at NATO to do so.
“We do not work off emails. We work off official documents and government positions, in this case of the United States,” Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez said when asked about the report ahead of a meeting of European Union leaders in Cyprus to discuss topics including NATO’s mutual assistance clause.
The memo also includes an option to consider reassessing US diplomatic support for longstanding European “imperial possessions,” such as the Falkland Islands near Argentina.
The State Department’s website states that the islands are administered by the United Kingdom but are still claimed by Argentina, whose Libertarian President Javier Milei is a Trump ally.
Britain and Argentina fought a brief war in 1982 over the islands after Argentina made a failed bid to take them. Some 650 Argentine soldiers and 255 British troops died before Argentina surrendered.
Trump has repeatedly insulted British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, calling him cowardly because of his unwillingness to join the US war with Iran, saying he was “No Winston Churchill” and describing Britain’s aircraft carriers as “toys.”
Britain initially did not grant a request from the US to allow its aircraft to attack Iran from two British bases, but later agreed to allow defensive missions aimed at protecting residents of the region, including British citizens, amid Iranian retaliation.
Addressing reporters at the Pentagon earlier this month, War Secretary Pete Hegseth said “a lot has been laid bare” by the war with Iran, noting that Iran’s longer-range missiles cannot hit the United States but can reach Europe.
“We get questions, or roadblocks, or hesitations … You don’t have much of an alliance if you have countries that are not willing to stand with you when you need them,” Hegseth said.
