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European leaders are pushing back against reported U.S. plans to penalize NATO allies that refuse to support the American- and Israel-led war on Iran. They're warning the proposals could undermine the alliance and deepen trans-Atlantic tensions. From Brussels, Teri Schultz reports, the options outlined in an alleged Pentagon memo are unlikely to work as intended but could still strain the alliance.
TERI SCHULTZ, BYLINE: President Trump warned NATO allies repeatedly there would be consequences for countries refusing to support the U.S.-led war against Iran.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: This was a test. You can help us. You don't have to, but if you don't have - you know, if you don't do that, we're going to remember.
SCHULTZ: Now, according to the Reuters news agency, a memo has been drawn up by top Pentagon official Elbridge Colby, looking at what measures the U.S. might take to retaliate against what it calls difficult allies. NPR has not independently reviewed the document.
Asked to confirm the reported memo, Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson declined to comment on, quote, "internal deliberations," but said the department is working to ensure the president has, quote, "credible options to ensure that our allies do their part." Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth underscored that message Friday.
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PETE HEGSETH: We are not counting on Europe, but they need the Strait of Hormuz much more than we do.
SCHULTZ: While no NATO member volunteered to join combat operations, it was Spain that most defiantly opposed the war, deeming it illegal and refusing to allow the U.S. to use its own bases on Spanish territory. Reuters says the confidential communication singles out the Spanish government, suggesting it could be suspended from NATO and that Spain and others might be blocked from top positions inside the alliance. Asked about the report at a European Union summit, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez seemed to dismiss the threats.
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PRIME MINISTER PEDRO SÁNCHEZ: (Speaking Spanish).
SCHULTZ: "We don't work on the basis of emails," Sánchez says. "We're working on official documents and positions made, in this case, by the United States government." Sánchez doesn't have to worry the U.S. can get his country kicked out of NATO. An Alliance official confirms, there's no way a country can be suspended or removed. But Joel Linnainmaki, a senior researcher with the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, says even the mistaken notions could further damage NATO unity.
JOEL LINNAINMAKI: If Trump would start messaging that he now considers Spain to be suspended, it's not a situation that would be very optimal or ideal for European allies. Even if it's not legal to do some of these things that are floating around, the Trump administration could, of course, try to make its own reality, and that would lead to chaos.
SCHULTZ: Reuters says the memo also suggests raising questions about the status of the Falkland Islands, which are ruled by the U.K. but are also claimed by Argentina. This sparked a response from British foreign secretary Yvette Cooper on X, who wrote, quote, "the Falkland Islands are British. Sovereignty rests with the U.K. Self-determination rests with the islanders." But Linnainmaki acknowledges, even discussion of the reported memo is enough to pile on the nervousness allies are feeling.
LINNAINMAKI: There is a lot of concern and deep anxiety about the level of strategic dependency that Europe has on the United States. But there is not really anything that Europeans can do in the short term except try to stand up for their interests and their security without seeking to decouple from the U.S.
SCHULTZ: Linnainmaki suggests, the unity shown by Europe when it rallied around Denmark in the face of Trump's threats to take over Greenland, which ultimately made Trump back down, should be a model for managing future tensions in the trans-Atlantic relationship. For NPR News, I'm Teri Schultz in Brussels.
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