US secretary of state raises questions about NATO amid Iran war

By Berk Kutay Gokmen

ISTANBUL (AA) - US Secretary of State Marco Rubio raised questions regarding NATO amid the war with Iran, criticizing Spain for denying US aircraft access to its bases during the war.

“One of the reasons why I supported NATO was because it gave us basing rights. It allowed us to have bases in Europe that we could use in a contingency like something in the Middle East,” Rubio said in an interview with Fox News, aired Wednesday but taped earlier this week.

“So when you have NATO partners denying you the use of those bases – when the primary reason why NATO is good for America is now being denied to us by Spain, as an example – then what’s the purpose of the Alliance? It starts becoming a ‘they’re allies when they want to be’ kind of thing,” he added.

Spain has denied US military aircraft access to its air bases during the Iran conflict, prompting threats from Washington of a trade embargo, troop withdrawals and even suspension from NATO.

Clarifying that there are countries in NATO that are “very helpful” to the US, he said that “others like Spain have been atrocious, just horrifying.”

“What is the purpose of being in an alliance whose benefit to us is these basing rights if, in a time of conflict like the one we’ve had with Iran, they can deny us the use of those bases? So why are we there for? Only to protect them but not to further our national interest? This is a very legitimate question that we need to address,” Rubio said.