U.S Secretary of State Marco Rubio criticised NATO on Thursday for not backing the U.S operations in Iran, ahead of talks in Sweden. Rubio talked to reporters in Miami, before leaving to attend a summit of NATO Foreign Ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden.
He told the media, “There are many countries in NATO that agree with us that Iran can’t have a nuclear weapon, that Iran is a threat to the world.”
“He’s not asking them to commit troops,” Rubio said, referring to U.S President Donald Trump “He’s not asking them to send their fighter jets in. But they refuse to do anything. We were very upset about that.”
Trump reportedly did not consult NATO before conducting a joint operation with Israel on February 28, which triggered the ongoing war with Iran. European allies, particularly Spain, have voiced scepticism over Trump’s actions.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called the war “illegal” and refused to let U.S jets use the bases in his country.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz made comments that Iran was “humiliating” the United States in negotiations, provoking Trump to withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany.
“I’ve been a strong supporter of NATO my entire career,” said Rubio “I know why NATO is good for Europe, but why is NATO good for America? Because it gives us bases in the region that allow us to project power during a contingency in the Middle East or somewhere else.”
Rubio further added, “So when that is the key rationale for why you’re in NATO, and then you have countries like Spain denying us the use of these bases, well then, why are you in NATO? That’s a very fair question.”
He emphasised that other countries were more helpful when it came to supporting the United States. He had earlier praised Portugal for its defense cooperation.
