A NATO spokesman recalled on Friday that the founding treaty of the Alliance “does not contain any article relating to the suspension or exclusion” of any member state, a reaction that came after the disclosure of an alleged internal email of the US Department of Defense that suggested the possibility of suspending Spain from NATO following this country's refusal to support the United States in the war against Iran, reports the Spanish agency EFE, quoted by Agerpres.
The North Atlantic Treaty (Washington Treaty), the founding document of NATO, only includes the protocol for the accession of new members or for the scenario in which a member country wishes to withdraw from the Alliance. As the quoted spokesperson has now reminded, the 14 articles of this Treaty do not provide for the possibility of suspension or exclusion of any member state.
The Spanish government led by Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Friday it was not at all concerned by reports that the administration of US President Donald Trump could try to suspend Spain from NATO, stressing that the North Atlantic Treaty does not allow such action, and assured that Madrid's commitment to collective defense remains unquestionable.
Prime Minister Sanchez himself minimized this problem, in statements given to the press at the EU summit held in Cyprus.
The Pentagon would consider suspending Spain from NATO
The possibility of the Trump administration suspending Spain from its capacity as a NATO member state is being considered, it is stated in an internal email of the Pentagon, which was previously reported by the Reuters news agency on Friday.
After being the only NATO member to reject Trump's demand for a prospective increase in the defense budget to 5% of GDP, Sanchez's government has become one of the most vocal critics of the war waged by the US and Israel against Iran.
Spain closed its airspace for the American planes engaged in the attacks and prohibited them from using jointly operated military bases in the south of the country, the American military aviation being thus forced to move from Spain to other European bases 15 KC-135 tanker planes, used for in-flight refueling of the fighter and bombing planes participating in the military operations against Iran.
Trump threatened Spain with trade reprisals, which, however, are difficult to put into practice, given that it is an EU member country and its trade with the US takes place on the basis of the trade framework between the EU and the US.
The Trump administration wants to take revenge on other allies as well
According to the same Pentagon document described on Friday, American retaliation against allied countries that did not align with the Trump administration in the war against Iran could also be directed against Great Britain, by losing US support for British sovereignty over the Falkland Islands.
The sovereignty of the United Kingdom over these islands in the South Atlantic, claimed by Argentina, “is not in question”, the office of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer reacted.
Donald Trump criticized the British government for the initial lack of support in the war started by the US and Israel against Iran, after the US air force was not allowed to use British bases in the first bombings.
However, on March 1, the day after the launch of the US-Israeli bombing of Iran, Prime Minister Starmer authorized the US Air Force to use British air bases Fairford, England, and Diego Garcia, in the Indian Ocean, for attacks against Iran, claiming that the attacks would only be for “defensive purposes”.
