Rubio Threatens NATO Relationship Reexamination

(MENAFN) U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Tuesday that Washington could fundamentally reconsider its commitment to the NATO alliance once the Iran conflict concludes, citing deepening frustration over allied nations’ refusal to back the American military campaign.

“After this conflict is concluded, we’re going to have to reexamine that relationship. We’re going to have to re-examine the value of NATO and that alliance for our country,” Rubio said in an interview.

He was careful to defer ultimate authority to the White House, adding: “Ultimately, that’s a decision for the president to make.”

“Then Why Are We in NATO?”
Rubio directed sharp criticism at NATO member states that had refused Washington’s requests to access their military installations during the ongoing campaign — stopping well short, he stressed, of asking them to engage in combat operations themselves.

“We’re not asking them to conduct airstrikes. When we need them to allow us to use their military bases, their answer is ‘No.’ Then why are we in NATO?” he said.

The remarks carry particular weight given Rubio’s own record on the alliance. The secretary, who acknowledged he had long been “one of the strongest defenders of NATO,” pointed to Europe-based American installations as historically central to Washington’s ability to project military power across the globe.

Yet he cautioned that without reciprocal support, the alliance risks becoming “a one-way street.”

“Why do we have… all these American forces stationed in the region if in our time of need we’re not going to be allowed to use those bases?” he said.

European Allies Draw a Hard Line
Rubio’s remarks reflect a widening rift between Washington and its European partners over the legality and scope of the Iran war — a conflict that was launched without formal NATO consultation, drawing immediate pushback from across the alliance.

Italy recently turned down a U.S. request to allow military aircraft to land at a base in Sicily. Spain has similarly declined to permit the use of its bases or airspace for any operations linked to the conflict. Meanwhile, the UK, France, and Germany have each confined their involvement to defensive assistance for regional partners, while consistently urging all sides to de-escalate.

The growing reluctance among European allies — driven in part by legal concerns surrounding the war’s authorization — has amplified tensions within an alliance already under strain, and set the stage for what could become a landmark reassessment of American engagement in NATO once the guns fall silent.

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