Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
سپاه پاسداران انقلاب اسلامی
Trump mulls expelling Spain from NATO for failing to back his war on Iran
The US has threatened to "punish" its NATO allies for their 'lack of support in the war on Iran', including ejecting Spain from the alliance.
Spain has been the most prominent and forthright critic of the war on Iran, declaring it illegal from the outset and forbidding the US from using its bases or airspace for the conflict.
Spain hit back at the reports, with Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez stating that his country was following all its obligations under the alliance.
"Spain is a reliable member within NATO" that is fulfilling all its obligations, Sanchez told reporters in Cyprus, where he was attending an EU summit.
"As a result, I am absolutely not worried," he said.
The Pentagon described these two factors as "just the absolute baseline for NATO".
An internal Pentagon email seen by Reuters outlined a range of possible options for the US to inflict consequences on its allies.
Among the other measures considered were recognizing Argentina's claims over the Falkland Islands, which the South American country calls Las Malvinas, to punish the UK, and blocking "difficult" countries from important or prestigious positions within the alliance.
Donald Trump, who has long criticized what he sees as a power imbalance between the US and other members of NATO, has made no secret of his frustration at Europe's opposition to the US-Israeli war on Iran.
In early April, he repeated his threat to pull the US out of the alliance.