US Secretary of State Marco Rubio criticized Spain and other NATO allies for their limited support in the conflict with Iran, suggesting that Washington may reconsider the alliance after the conflict.
Rubio said the United States discovered that Spain, a NATO member obligated to provide defense, denied US use of its airspace and even boasted about it, according to a transcript of a statement released to Al Jazeera by his office on Monday.
He also highlighted resistance to the use of US military bases in Spain and elsewhere.
“NATO is useful to the United States because it allows the stationing of troops and equipment abroad. But if NATO only concerns itself with defending Europe if it is attacked, and then denies us the right to deploy where we need, that’s not a very good arrangement,” Rubio said.
According to him, it is difficult to stay committed and say that this is good for the United States. “So all of this will need to be reconsidered,” he added, stressing that NATO “cannot be a one-way street.”
“Let’s hope we can fix it. We’ll have time to address it later,” he said.
Spain has closed its airspace to flights related to the Iran conflict and previously blocked US use of the Rota and Morón bases in Andalusia for operations. These facilities have long been jointly managed by Spain and the US.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized NATO allies for what he views as insufficient support in the conflict.
NATO’s Article 5 mutual defense clause does not apply to the war that the United States and Israel have launched against Iran.
