An internal email circulated inside the United States Defense Department has set off a fresh row with NATO allies after it laid out possible measures Washington could take against countries it believes have not backed its war on Iran strongly enough. Among the options under review were suspending Spain from NATO and re-evaluating the U.S. stance on the Falkland Islands, the South Atlantic territory also claimed by Argentina.
The email said suspending Spain would carry strong symbolic weight but little operational consequence for the U.S. military. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Friday in Cyprus that Madrid is a reliable NATO member and meets all its obligations, adding that he was “absolutely not worried.” “We do not work with emails. We work with official documents and positions taken, in this case, by the government of the US,” he said. “The position of the government of Spain is clear: absolute collaboration with the allies, but always within the framework of international legality.”
The episode lands amid persistent tension over Iran and growing U.S. frustration with European allies over access to bases and airspace. Spain has refused to let the U.S. launch attacks on Iran from its airspace or bases, while the UK initially did not authorize U.S. planes to operate from two British bases before Keir Starmer later approved their use for what he called defensive purposes. The same pressure has already produced sharp public rhetoric from Donald Trump, who called Spain terrible and threatened to end all trade with the country, and mocked Starmer as “no Winston Churchill” while dismissing Britain’s aircraft carriers as toys.
Britain’s response to the Falkland Islands suggestion was equally firm. A spokesperson for Starmer said the UK’s position was longstanding and unchanged, and that “sovereignty rests with the UK and the islands’ right to self-determination is paramount.” The islands remain a live sovereignty dispute because Argentina also claims them, and the issue still carries the shadow of the 1982 war, when Britain and Argentina fought over the territory and some 650 Argentine service personnel and 255 British service personnel died before Argentina surrendered.
Italy’s Giorgia Meloni also signaled that the alliance should not be allowed to fracture. Speaking Friday, she said NATO must remain united and that Europe’s role should strengthen, not replace, the U.S. commitment. For now, the Pentagon email has exposed the depth of frustration inside Washington, but it has also shown how quickly even a hypothetical move on Spain or the Falkland Islands can harden into a diplomatic test for the alliance.
