Revealed: US Considers Suspending Spain from NATO
A leaked internal Pentagon email outlines options for the United States (US) to punish NATO allies deemed to have failed in supporting the war between the US and Israel against Iran. One such option is suspending Spain’s membership from the NATO alliance.
Other options mention reviewing the US position regarding Britain’s claims over the Falkland Islands. The contents of the internal Pentagon email, as reported by Reuters on Friday (24/4/2026), were revealed by an unnamed US official speaking to Reuters.
The policy options are outlined in notes that reveal disappointment over the reluctance or refusal of some NATO allies to provide access, bases, and overflight rights to the US—known as ABO—in the war against Iran.
The internal Pentagon email, according to the US official, states that ABO is merely “an absolute basic standard for NATO.” It is mentioned that these policy options have circulated among high-level Pentagon officials.
One option in the email, said the US official, includes a vision for suspending “difficult” countries from important or prestigious positions in NATO.
US President Donald Trump has sharply criticised NATO allies, including Britain and France, for not deploying their navies to help open the Strait of Hormuz. Trump has even considered withdrawing the US from NATO.
Washington has specifically expressed disappointment towards Spain, which has asserted it will not allow its bases or airspace to be used for attacking Iran. The US has two important military bases in Spain, namely the Rota Naval Base and the Moron Air Base.
The policy options outlined in the Pentagon email, according to the US official, are intended to send a strong signal to NATO allies with the aim of “reducing the sense of entitlement on the part of Europe.”
Based on the arguments in the Pentagon email, the option to suspend Spain’s NATO membership is assessed to have limited effects on US military operations but would deliver significant symbolic impact.
When asked about the email, Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson affirmed: “As President Trump has said, despite everything the United States has done for our NATO allies, they are not there for us.”
“The Department of War (the new name for the Pentagon—ed) will ensure that the President has credible options to make sure that our allies are no longer paper tigers and instead do their part. We have no further comment on any internal considerations regarding this,” he added.
Meanwhile, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez sought to downplay the impact of the Pentagon email. “We do not work based on emails. We work based on official documents and government positions, in this case the United States,” he stressed.