US considers suspending Spain from NATO, agency says

According to information from the British agency, an American government official described the content of an internal Pentagon email that expresses frustration with the reluctance or refusal of some allies to grant the United States access, base and overflight rights – known as ABO – for the war against Iran, currently under ceasefire.

Among the options considered by Washington are suspending Spain from NATO, a measure that “would have a limited effect on American military operations, but a significant symbolic impact,” according to the email.

The official also told Reuters that another option being considered is to reevaluate US diplomatic support for former European “imperial possessions”, such as the Falkland Islands, a British overseas territory that led to a war with Argentina in the 1980s and is claimed by Buenos Aires to this day.

Since the start of the US and Israeli war against Iran on February 28, the United Kingdom has hesitated to allow the use of air bases on its territory for operations related to the conflict, initially allowing their use only for defensive purposes. However, later, the British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, allowed the use of the bases for offensive actions.

Spain, governed by socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, ordered the closure of its airspace to US flights participating in the conflict and also did not allow the use of its Rota and Morón air bases by American planes.

In response, American President Donald Trump threatened to cut off trade with the Spanish.

Last year, when, after Trump’s demands, NATO countries agreed to invest at least 5% of GDP in defense by 2035, the only country in the military alliance that refused to commit to the new target was Spain, which led Trump to suggest that the Iberian country be expelled from NATO.

Trump has criticized European allies in NATO for not helping to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, blocked by Iran due to war, and recently ridiculed the United Kingdom, saying that the country “doesn’t even have a Navy”.

This Friday, a NATO official told the British broadcaster BBC that the organization’s founding treaty “does not provide for any provision for the suspension of NATO membership or expulsion”.

Also today, Sánchez minimized the Reuters report, saying that the Spanish government “does not work” on emails, but on official documents and public positions made, in this case, by the United States.

“The position of the Spanish government is clear: absolute collaboration with allies, but always within the framework of international legality”, he stated, according to information from the EFE agency.

“From our point of view there is no debate, we have fulfilled our obligations, we are a loyal partner and, therefore, we have absolute peace of mind,” said Sánchez, regarding the possibility of the US demanding Spain’s suspension from NATO.