Pentagon email considers expelling Spain from NATO over non-cooperation during Iran war

However, NATO has said there is no mechanism to suspend or expel member states from the alliance.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

An internal Pentagon email outlines possible actions the United States could take to punish NATO allies, including Spain, over its lack of support for the war between the US and Iran, Reuters reported.

The email detailed Spain’s refusal to provide the United States with access, basing and overflight rights, known as ABO, for the Iran war. It stated that ABO is “just the absolute baseline for NATO,” according to an official, who added that the proposals were being discussed at senior levels within the Pentagon.

One option described in the email involves suspending countries considered “difficult” from key or prestigious NATO roles, the official said.

President Donald Trump has sharply criticized NATO allies for failing to send their navies to assist in reopening the Strait of Hormuz, even though 20% of global oil and gas supplies pass through the waterway.

However, NATO has said there is no mechanism to suspend or expel member states from the alliance, Reuters reported. A NATO official told the BBC that the organization’s founding treaty “does not foresee any provision for suspension of NATO membership, or expulsion.”

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has strongly criticized the 2026 U.S.-led war in Iran, calling it an “illegal” and “colossal mistake.” Sánchez refused to allow US forces to use Spanish airbases, saying Spain will not bear the economic or humanitarian costs of the war, and argued it is worse than the 2003 Iraq invasion.

Trump has publicly questioned the value of the US remaining in NATO.

“Wouldn’t you ⁠if you were me?” Trump asked Reuters in an April 1 interview, responding to a question on whether the US would consider leaving the organization.

Angered by the lack of cooperation from many countries in the recent war with Iran, the president said withdrawing was “beyond reconsideration.”

However, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted on social media that no US president can decide with withdraw the US from NATO without Senate approval.