Nicosia, Cyprus — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Friday declined to be drawn into a reported dispute with the United States over whether NATO members that do not support American operations in the Iran war could face penalties, including potential changes to their alliance standing. Speaking at a European Union summit in Cyprus, Sánchez said he would not comment on the reported basis of the dispute and that Spain’s posture toward Washington is grounded in official positions and international law.
The question was raised as U.S. officials and allies weigh how NATO operates amid the Iran war and how much freedom the United States has to use partner territory for operations, including basing and airspace access. Spain has refused to allow U.S. forces involved in the war to use bases on its territory or airspace, and Spain has said U.S.-Israeli actions in the campaign contravene international law.
Sánchez responded to reporters after discussion of a Reuters-cited Pentagon account tied to an internal Defense Department email, and after a senior U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, did not dispute the reporting. “Well, we do not work with emails,” Sánchez told reporters at the summit. He added, “We work with official documents and positions taken, in this case, by the government of the United States.” Sánchez also said the Spanish government’s position was “clear: absolute collaboration with the allies, but always within the framework of international legality.”
The reported U.S. approach also touched on other European governments, according to the AP report. France and the U.K. have refused to allow U.S. forces free rein to use their territory for the bombing campaign, while the reported Pentagon deliberations included Spain among those “in the firing line.” In a statement cited by the AP, Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson said NATO allies “were not there for us,” adding that the Pentagon “will ensure that the President has credible options to ensure that our allies are no longer a paper tiger and instead do their part.”
The AP report said the internal email also raised the idea of reassessing U.S. support for the United Kingdom’s claim to the Falkland Islands, known as Islas Malvinas, near Argentina. Dave Pares, a spokesman for U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, said the islands’ position is “longstanding and it’s unchanged: Sovereignty rests with the U.K., and the islanders’ right to self-determination is paramount.” Pares said the Falkland Islands “have previously voted overwhelmingly in favor of remaining a U.K. overseas territory.”
Beyond the immediate dispute, the AP report described a broader framework issue for NATO itself. The alliance operates by consensus, and all 32 member countries must agree for it to act, while the founding treaty does not include a mechanism for suspending or ejecting members; nations may leave of their own accord one year after notifying other allies. Asked for comment, NATO headquarters said: “NATO’s Founding Treaty does not foresee any provision for suspension of NATO membership, or expulsion.”
The AP report said President Donald Trump has been angered by what he sees as failures by some NATO members to back American actions in the Iran war and to help police the Strait of Hormuz, a major trade route, and that he has questioned the purpose of U.S. membership in the military organization. The report also cited EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, who appeared perplexed by the U.S. criticism, saying that after contacts with American counterparts, “then actually their asks for us have been exactly what we are able to offer after the cessation of hostilities,” including “Demining, escorting of ships, all of this that we have been discussing.”
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said the United States has “long-standing arrangements and agreements with European allies on overflight, on basing” that should be respected, in a context that the AP described as implicit criticism of some allies including Spain and also France. The AP said that while Spain restricted U.S. military activity related to the Iran war, U.S. warplanes have flown over other NATO allies’ airspace and used U.S. bases in other NATO countries for war-related operations.
As EU leaders discussed security planning in the shadow of waning U.S. commitment, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides said the leaders had tasked the European Commission to prepare a blueprint on how the EU would respond if a member sought help under Article 42.7 of the EU treaties. Christodoulides said the mechanism “prepare[d]” for a scenario in which a member seeks assistance and that it had only been used once, by France after the Paris terror attacks in 2015.
The AP report said EU envoys and ministers are due next month to conduct “table-top exercises” to game out how Article 42.7 might be used, drawing on the bloc’s military capacities as well as other tools not available to NATO, including trade, border and visa policies.
Cook reported from Brussels. Associated Press writers Konstantin Toropin in Washington and Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report.