US considers suspending Spain from NATO, reported internal email suggests

An email has circulated within the United States Defense Department laying out potential measures the US could take against NATO allies it believes have not sufficiently supported its war on Iran, such as Spain and the United Kingdom, according to a US official quoted by the Reuters news agency.

The internal email considers options such as suspending Spain from NATO and re-evaluating Washington’s stance on the British Falkland Islands, which are also claimed by Argentina, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The email, which alleges “a sense of entitlement on the part of the Europeans”, is intended as a signal to NATO partners, according to the official.

Suspending Spain from the bloc would carry strong symbolic weight with little operational consequence to the US military, the email says.

Asked about the email while at an EU leaders’ meeting in Cyprus on Friday, Spanish ⁠⁠Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Madrid is a “reliable member” of NATO that meets all its obligations.

“As a result, I am absolutely not worried,” he said. “We do not work with emails. We work with official documents and positions taken, in this case, by the government of the US.

“The position of the government of Spain is clear: absolute collaboration with the allies, but always within the framework of international legality.”

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Keir Starmer hit back, saying the UK’s position on the Falkland Islands is longstanding and “unchanged”.

“Sovereignty rests with the UK and the islands’ ‌right to self-determination is paramount. It’s been our consistent position and will remain the case,” the spokesperson said.

Britain and Argentina fought a brief war in 1982 over ⁠the islands after Argentina made a failed bid to take them. Some 650 Argentine and ⁠255 British service personnel died before Argentina ⁠surrendered.

Asked if Starmer thought the email was an attempt by the US to put pressure on him to join the Iran war, the spokesperson said: “Pressure does not affect him, and he ‌will ‌always act in the national interest, and that will always remain the case.”

‘Baseline for NATO’

US officials have raged at European allies for refusing or hesitating to allow the use of their bases for attacks on Iran.

Spain has refused to let the US wage attacks on Iran from its airspace or bases. Trump called Spain “terrible” and threatened to end all trade with the country.