US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warns of a major reassessment of the NATO alliance once the conflict with Iran concludes, citing restrictions on US base use.
WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared on Tuesday that the United States “is going to have to reexamine” its relationship with NATO once the war against Iran has concluded.
He made the remarks during an interview on Fox News with host Sean Hannity.
“I think there’s no doubt, unfortunately, after this conflict is concluded, we are going to have to reexamine that relationship,” Rubio said.
“We’re going to have to reexamine the value of NATO in that alliance for our country.”
Rubio stated that “ultimately” the decision would be for President Donald Trump to make.
The top US diplomat noted he had been “one of the strongest defenders of NATO” during his time in the US Senate.
He said he had “found great value in it,” largely due to the military bases in Europe that allowed the US to project power globally.
“If now we have reached a point where the NATO alliance means that we can’t use those bases, that in fact we can no longer use those bases to defend America’s interests, then NATO is a one-way street,” he added.
Rubio argued that while Washington was not asking allies to conduct airstrikes, their refusal to allow base access was problematic.
“When we need them to allow us to use their military bases, their answer is ‘No?’ Then why are we in NATO? You have to ask that question,” he said.
His comments follow recent restrictions imposed by several European nations on US military operations from their soil.
Italy denied a US aircraft permission to land while it was en route to the Middle East for a combat mission earlier on Tuesday.
Spain also closed its airspace to US planes carrying out missions against Iran on Monday.