Overview
- An internal Pentagon email, described in a Reuters report by an unnamed U.S. official, outlined options to punish allies over Iran operations, including trying to suspend Spain and reassessing support for the U.K.'s Falklands claim.
- NATO headquarters said the alliance’s founding treaty provides no way to suspend or expel a member and that decisions require consensus among all 32 countries.
- Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Spain is a reliable NATO member and said he was not worried, pointing to cooperation that stays within international law and to Spain’s refusal to allow Iran-strike flights or basing.
- Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson said some allies “were not there for us” and said the Defense Department would ensure the president has “credible options” to press for greater support.
- European officials pushed back, with Germany saying Spain’s membership is not in question, while the dispute has spurred EU talks on how to help one another under EU mutual aid rules if U.S. security backing recedes.