Reuters claimed in an overnight report that an internal Pentagon email outlines options for the United States to punish NATO allies it believes failed to support U.S. operations in the war with Iran, including suspending Spain from the alliance and reviewing the U.S. position on Britain’s claim to the Falkland/Malvinas Islands. The contents of the email were partially leaked to Reuters by an unnamed U.S. official, who explained that policy options are detailed in a note expressing frustration at some allies’ perceived reluctance or refusal to grant the United States access, basing and overflight rights—known as ABO—for the Iran war. The email stated that ABO is “just the absolute baseline for NATO,” according to the official, who added that the options were circulating at high levels in the Pentagon. One option in the email envisions suspending “difficult” countries from important or prestigious positions at NATO.
The email does not suggest that the United States withdraw from NATO—as Trump has hinted he might consider—the official said. It also does not propose closing bases in Europe, but the official declined to say whether the options included a widely expected U.S. drawdown of some forces from Europe, however.
Trump administration officials have stressed that NATO cannot be a one-way street. The Spanish government, which has denied ABO for operations targeting Iran, is a particular target. 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 U.S. 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 were an existing mechanism at NATO to do so
The North Atlantic Treaty contains no expulsion provision; Article 13 provides only for voluntary withdrawal by a member on one year’s notice. The drafters in 1949 considered including a suspension-and-expulsion mechanism and deliberately dropped the idea. In practice, the parties could theoretically move to expel a member under Article 12 (a treaty-review meeting) or the Vienna Convention’s material-breach doctrine, but both routes require consensus or unanimity of the other members—and neither has ever been used in NATO’s 77-year history. If the U.S. does move to punish Spain, it would likely be a prelude to an eventual breakup of NATO.
As for the Falkland/Malvinas Islands, their sovereignty rests with Britain, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Keir Starmer said today, reported Reuters. “We could not be clearer about the U.K.’s position on the Falkland Islands. It is long standing, it is unchanged,” the spokesperson told reporters. “Sovereignty rests with the U.K.... It’s been our consistent position and will remain the case,” the spokesperson continued, adding that Britain had expressed that position “clearly and consistently to successive U.S. administrations.”
