Nato says US cannot suspend Spain from alliance, after reported Pentagon email

Nato says US cannot suspend Spain from alliance, after reported Pentagon email10 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleAmy WalkerReutersNato says there is no provision for member states to be suspended or expelled from the military alliance after a report said the US could seek to suspend Spain over its Iran war stance.Reuters quoted a US official who said an internal Pentagon email had suggested measures for the US to punish allies it believed had failed to support its campaign. The email also suggested reviewing the US position on the UK's claim to the Falklands islands in the south Atlantic, which are also claimed by Argentina.A Nato official told the BBC that the organisation's founding treaty "does not foresee any provision for suspension of Nato membership, or expulsion".Spain's leader has also dismissed the report. The BBC has contacted the Pentagon and UK government for comment.Donald Trump has repeatedly criticised Nato allies for their reluctance to play a greater role after the US and Israel attacked Iran in late February and Iran subsequently restricted shipping through the key Strait of Hormuz route.Spain has refused to allow the use of air bases on its territory for attacks on Iran. The US has two military bases in Spain, Naval Station Rota and Morón Air Base. Pedro Sanchez told reporters: "We do not work based on emails. We work with official documents and official positions taken, in this case, by the government of the United States."Sanchez added that Spain supported "full cooperation with its allies, but always within the framework of international law."Meanwhile UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has insisted that greater involvement in the war or the current US blockade of Iran's ports is not in the UK's interest. The UK has allowed the US to use British bases to launch strikes on Iranian sites targeting the Strait of Hormuz and RAF planes have taken part in missions to shoot down Iranian...