Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other members of the NATO alliance convene for a NATO Defense Ministerial Session at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, Oct. 15, 2025. An internal Pentagon email reportedly outlines options to penalize allies believed to have withheld access, basing, and overflight rights for U.S. operations during the war with Iran, including suspending Spain from the alliance. (Alexander Kubitza/U.S. Navy)
Suspending Spain from NATO is one option the U.S. is considering in its push to punish allies regarded as uncooperative in American military operations against Iran, according to a news report Friday that cited an internal Pentagon email.
The email outlined various means of retaliation against fellow NATO members, including removing “difficult” countries from prestigious positions in the bloc and also reviewing the U.S. stance on Britain’s claim to the Falkland Islands, a U.S. official told Reuters.
Spain was singled out for punishment, with the idea of suspending the country from NATO being discussed at high levels inside the Pentagon, the news agency reported.
President Donald Trump and others in his administration have criticized Spain for its refusal to allow bases in the country, such as the Navy’s hub in Rota, to be used for operations against Iran.
The country also has denied the U.S. the right to use Spanish airspace for flight operations connected to the nearly two-month-old conflict.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez played down the report.
“We do not work on emails; we work on official documents and positions taken in this case by the United States government,” Sanchez said Friday, the Spanish news agency Democrata reported.
It is not immediately clear how the United States could suspend or expel Spain from NATO, as no formal mechanism exists for doing so.
While Article 13 in the Washington Treaty, NATO’s founding document, offers a way for a country to quit, the charter is silent on how to force out a member state that has fallen out of favor.
Should NATO ever decide to remove a member, it would likely have to amend the treaty. And that would mean getting unanimous support from all members, including the country that was being targeted for removal.
Trump has repeatedly criticized NATO for not participating in the Iran war, referring to the alliance as a “paper tiger.” He also said he was considering pulling the U.S. out of the organization in response.
But despite Trump’s frustrations, the conflict also has showcased the Pentagon’s reliance on military bases in Europe to project power into the Middle East.
Bases in Germany, the United Kingdom, Romania and Greece have factored into U.S. operations against Iran.
The email did not detail any plans for closing U.S. bases in Europe or drawing down troop levels, and it did not address potential implications for U.S. military installations in Spain, including the Navy’s base in Rota and an air base in Moron.
Over the years, frustrations with various allies have periodically flared, prompting questions about whether certain members belong inside the trans-Atlantic security bloc.
For example, Turkey’s 2019 invasion of Syria infuriated allies and prompted calls for reconsidering its membership.
In 1974, alliance leaders debated how to suspend Portugal following a leftist coup. They ended up opting to exclude Portugal from most NATO activities for a year.
