Rubio warns US may need to ‘reexamine’ role in NATO after European ally denials
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Tuesday that the United States may need to “re-examine” its role in NATO after key allies refused to allow American forces to use bases and airspace during Operation Epic Fury.
“If we’ve now reached the point where the NATO alliance means that we can’t use these bases, we can’t even use these bases anymore to defend America’s interests, then NATO is a one-way street. Then NATO is just us having troops in Europe to defend Europe,” Rubio said on “Hannity.”
He continued: “But… when we need them to let us use their military bases, their answer is no? So why are we in NATO? You have to ask that question.”
Rubio underlined this point, telling Fox News that there is “no doubt” that the United States will need to “re-examine” its relationship with the alliance once the Iran conflict is over, but that final decision-making authority on the matter has been handed over to President Trump.
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio participated in a bilateral meeting in Munich with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (not pictured) on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on February 13. (Alex Brandon / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)
“We’ll finish our work here [in Iran]” added Rubio.
“We are very, very close to achieving our goals on all of these issues that I have outlined, but unfortunately I think we need to re-examine this alliance that has served this country well for some time. [whether it’s] Does it still serve that purpose, or is it now a one-way street through which America can defend Europe? “But when we need the help of our allies, they will deny us our basic rights and our ability to fly.”
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The NATO emblem is seen at the NATO Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 12, 2023. (Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Rubio’s remarks came amid growing frustration with the Trump administration over officials’ assessment that European allies have failed to support U.S. military operations at a critical moment, especially as Washington seeks to eliminate Iran’s nuclear and missile capabilities.
The Secretary of State emphasized that the United States is not asking NATO partners to directly join the war, but only to provide them with access to existing infrastructure, a long-standing pillar of the alliance.
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Some of the tensions stem from decisions that put some European allies, including Spain and France, in the administration’s crosshairs after they restricted or banned U.S. access to key bases and airspace in the early stages of the operation.
For example, while Spain closed its airspace to US aircraft participating in the Iran war, President Trump also hit france because the country “was not allowing planes loaded with military supplies to go to Israel via French territory,” adding in a post on Truth Social that the long-time ally was “NO HELPFUL.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
