The Pentagon has assured this Friday that it will give the president of the United States, Donald Trump, “credible options” to respond to what Washington describes as an inaction of its allies within NATO during the offensive against Iran, following information that points to an alleged email from the State Department in which a possible suspension of Spain within the Alliance is put on the table.
The Pentagon press secretary, Kingsley Wilson, has indicated in statements given to Europa Press that “the War Department will guarantee that the president has credible options to guarantee that allies are not from now on a paper tiger and that they do their part.”
“As President Trump has said, despite everything the United States has done for our NATO allies, they were not there for us (during the offensive with Israel against Iran),” he said, before declining to comment on “internal deliberations” within the Administration on possible measures by Washington, in reference to the aforementioned email.
Wilson’s words have come hours after information about an alleged email in which the suspension of Spain in NATO is proposed as part of the responses, which has led the Alliance itself to clarify that the Washington Treaty, its founding document, does not provide any mechanism to take this step.
“The Founding Treaty of NATO does not contain any provision regarding the suspension of NATO membership, expulsion or limited participation,” a spokesperson for the Atlantic Alliance indicated this Friday in statements to Europa Press when questioned about the matter.
For his part, the President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, has downplayed the issue and has stressed that Madrid has not received a formal complaint from the Trump Administration, while claiming that Spain is a “loyal” partner that complies with its obligations with NATO.
“We do not work on e-mails, we work on official documents and positions made, in this case, by the United States Government. The position of the Government of Spain is clear: absolute collaboration with allies, but always within the framework of international legality,” he concluded in statements to the media upon his arrival at an informal summit of European Union leaders in the capital of Cyprus, Nicosia.
The tenant of the White House has been very critical of Spain and other NATO allies for, in his opinion, their limited involvement in the offensive against Iran – launched by surprise in the middle of a process of indirect negotiations between Washington and Tehran for a new nuclear agreement -, even going so far as to threaten his country’s departure from the bloc.