An internal Pentagon email outlines options for the United States to sanction NATO allies it believes did not support U.S. operations in the war against Iran. These options include suspending Spain from the alliance and reviewing the US position on Britain’s claim to the Falkland Islands, a US official told Reuters.
The policy options are detailed in a memo expressing frustration at the apparent reluctance or refusal of some allies to grant the United States access, bases and overflight rights (known as ABO) for the war with Iran, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the email.
The email states that ABO is “just the absolute starting point for NATO,” according to the official, who added that options were circulating at senior levels in the Pentagon.
One of the options in the email includes suspending “difficult” countries from important or prestigious positions in NATO, the official said.
President Donald Trump sharply criticized NATO allies for not sending their navies to help open the Strait of Hormuz, closed to global maritime traffic after the air war began on February 28.
He also stated that he is considering withdrawing from the alliance.
“Wouldn’t you do it if I were me?” Trump asked Reuters in an interview on April 1, in response to a question about the possibility of the United States withdrawing from NATO.
However, the email does not suggest that the United States will do so, the official said. Nor does it propose the closure of bases in Europe.
The official declined to clarify whether the options included a massive withdrawal of US forces from Europe, something widely expected.
Asked about the email, Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson responded: “As President Trump has said, despite everything 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 stop being a paper tiger and instead do their part.” “We have no further comment on internal deliberations on this matter,” Wilson said.
THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION PERCEIVES A “SENSE OF RIGHT” IN EUROPE
The US-Israel war with Iran has raised serious questions about the future of the 76-year-old bloc and sparked unprecedented concern that the United States might not come to the aid of its European allies in the event of an attack, according to analysts and diplomats.
Britain, France and other countries say joining the U.S. naval blockade would be tantamount to entering the war, but that they would be willing to help keep the strait open once a lasting ceasefire is reached or the conflict ends.
However, Trump administration officials have stressed that NATO cannot be a one-way street.
They have expressed frustration with Spain, where the socialist government declared it would not allow its bases or airspace to be used to attack Iran. The United States has two important military bases in Spain: the Rota Naval Base and the Morón Air Base.
The policy options outlined in the email would aim to send a strong signal to NATO allies in order to “reduce the feeling of superiority on the part of 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 reveal how the United States might proceed to suspend Spain from the alliance, and Reuters could not immediately determine whether there was any mechanism in NATO to do so.
The memorandum also includes the option to reconsider US diplomatic support for former European “imperial possessions”, such as the Falkland Islands, near Argentina.
The State Department website indicates that the islands are administered by the United Kingdom, but Argentina still claims them. Libertarian President Javier Milei is an ally of Trump.
Britain and Argentina fought a brief war in 1982 over the islands, after Argentina tried unsuccessfully to take them. Some 650 Argentine and 255 British soldiers died before Argentina recovered them. He gave up.
Trump has repeatedly insulted British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, calling him a coward for his refusal to join the US war against Iran, saying he was “no Winston Churchill” and describing British aircraft carriers as “toys”.
Britain initially did not agree to the United States’ request to allow its aircraft to attack Iran from two British bases, but later agreed to authorize defensive missions intended to protect residents of the region, including British citizens, amid Iranian retaliation.
Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon earlier this month, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that “a lot has been revealed” by the war against Iran, noting that Iran’s long-range missiles cannot reach the United States, but they can reach Europe.
“We get questions, or obstacles, or doubts… You don’t have much freedom of action.”
