‘Will have to reassess that relationship’: Rubio hits out at NATO, says ties can’t be ‘one-way street’
US secretary of state Marco Rubio said on Tuesday (US local time) that Washington may need to “reassess” its relationship with NATO after the Iran war ends.“I think there’s no doubt that, unfortunately, once this conflict is over, we’ll have to take a fresh look at that relationship. We’ll need to reconsider what NATO brings to our country within that alliance,” he told Fox News, adding that the final decision would ultimately rest with President Donald Trump.
Washington’s top diplomat described himself as “one of the strongest defenders of NATO” while he was in the US Senate because he “found great value in it.”“If now we have reached a point where the NATO alliance means that we can’t use those bases, that in fact we can no longer use those bases to defend America’s interests, then NATO is a one-way street,” he added.Rubio went further, saying that while Washington was not asking its allies in the global military coalition to conduct airstrikes as part of the war against Iran, “when we need them to allow us to use their military bases, their answer is ‘No?’ Then why are we in NATO? You have to ask that question.”Rubio’s remarks come as Trump has repeatedly criticised NATO allies for not supporting American efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has effectively blocked in response to the February 28 US-Israeli strikes across the Islamic Republic that triggered the wider Middle East conflict. The strait is a vital global chokepoint, carrying roughly 20% of the world’s crude oil supply.Amid the tensions, Spain has barred American aircraft involved in the Iran conflict from its airspace, while Italy has declined to allow US bombers bound for the Middle East to land at its air bases.The UK had also initially refused to allow the United States to use an RAF base before later reversing its decision.
