US may reassess Nato ties after Iran war ends, Rubio says

Plane spotters watch a US Air Force B-1 Lancer bomber taking off from a British airbase in Fairford on March 15.

Photo: AFP Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US may need to reassess its relationship with Nato after the Iran war is finished, calling the military alliance’s alleged lack of support during the Middle East conflict “very disappointing”.

Rubio assailed Nato members for denying access to military bases, following prior criticism from US President Donald Trump that partners in the security bloc are “cowards” and that the alliance is a “paper tiger”. “The president and our country will have to re-examine all of this after this operation is over,” Rubio said in an interview with Al Jazeera. “If Nato is just about us defending Europe if they’re attacked, but them denying us basing rights when we need them, that’s not a very good arrangement.

That’s a hard one to stay engaged in.” Members of Nato have largely rebuffed Trump’s requests to help reopen the vital Strait of Hormuz, which Iran effectively closed with threats of retaliation after being attacked by the US and Israel.

The critical passageway for energy supplies has been effectively shut since late February, leading oil and gas prices to soar. “When this operation is over, it will be open and it’ll be open one way or another,” Rubio said. “It will be open because Iran agrees to abide by international law and not block the commercial waterway, or a coalition of nations from around the world – and the region – with the participation of the United States, will make sure that it’s open,” he added.

A main focus of US anger has been Spain, which closed its airspace to American flights involved in Iran operations, expanding an earlier effort to distance itself from the conflict by blocking the use of US bases in Spain.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has also faced harsh criticism from Trump after initially rejecting the president’s request to allow the US to access the country’s military bases to help carry out strikes on Iran.

The UK government has since allowed the US to use bases for “limited defensive action”.

Earlier this month, Trump mocked Starmer, saying he “is not Winston Churchill” and threatening to cut off trade with Spain.

The US can project power into the Middle East most effectively when it can lean on allied geography – logistics hubs in Germany, airbases in Britain, naval facilities in Spain and the overflight permissions that let aircraft move without friction.

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