Does the United States Seek to Suspend Spain from NATO? Sánchez Responds to Alleged Pentagon Email

(SeaPRwire) –   Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has refuted reports that the U.S. is floating the idea of suspending Spain from the NATO alliance.

Per a Reuters report, an internal Pentagon email is said to have outlined various ways the U.S. Administration could punish NATO allies that it believes failed the U.S. by not actively supporting military operations in the Iran war.

“We do not base our work on unconfirmed emails,” Sánchez told reporters when asked about the issue at the European Union summit in Cyprus on Friday. “We work with official documents and formal positions, in this case, from the government of the United States.”

Reaffirming Spain’s opposition to the Iran war, which he has repeatedly labeled “illegal,” Sánchez added: “The position of the Spanish government is clear: full collaboration with our alliance partners, but always within the framework of international legality.”

NATO, meanwhile, has stated that the alliance has no existing provisions to remove or expel member states.

“NATO’s Founding Treaty does not include any provision for either suspension of NATO membership or expulsion,” a NATO official told TIME.

TIME has contacted the Pentagon to request comment on the matter.

Since the Iran war began, Spain has been one of the most outspoken European critics, accusing the U.S. of dragging the entire world into a conflict that has brought nothing but “insecurity and pain.”

Spain refused the U.S. permission to use jointly-operated military bases to launch attacks on Iran, and later closed its airspace to U.S. aircraft involved in the conflict.

Months before the war began, Spain pushed back against Trump’s calls for all NATO members to raise defense spending to 5% of GDP.

Spain’s opposition to the Middle East conflict, and its refusal to follow Trump’s calls for NATO allies to support the U.S. effort, has drawn sharp criticism from the U.S. President.

“Spain has been terrible. I told Scott [Bessent, Treasury Secretary] to cut off all dealings with Spain,” Trump warned in March, threatening economic consequences. “We’re going to cut off all trade with Spain. We don’t want anything to do with Spain.”

Spain is not the only country that has drawn Trump’s anger, as he has also issued threats against the United Kingdom. Relations between the once-close allies have grown strained amid the Iran war.

The Pentagon email in question is reportedly said to suggest reviewing the U.S. position on Britain’s claim to the Falkland Islands, as well as removing “difficult” allies from key NATO roles and posts.

Tensions between Trump and NATO have built up over years, as he criticized the alliance repeatedly throughout his first presidential term.

Last month, Trump warned NATO allies they would face a “very bad” future if they did not help secure the Strait of Hormuz. European nations responded to Trump with caution and resistance, declining to send warships to the critical trade waterway.

Shortly after that, Trump said he was seriously considering pulling the U.S. out of the alliance, insisting that allies had failed his “test” when asked to assist the U.S.

Experts told TIME that although Trump could explore a small number of paths to exit NATO, the legalities of such a move would be unclear at best. 

But just the suggestion of the U.S. leaving NATO has already caused significant damage, they added.

“The very idea of a U.S. exit erodes trust, cohesion, and the credibility of collective defense,” Ilaria Di Gioia, a senior lecturer in American law at Birmingham City University, told TIME. 

“Trump’s repeated questioning of the alliance weakens deterrence, disrupts European security planning, and emboldens adversaries.”