Secretary of State Marco Rubio questioned the value of NATO Tuesday night after European allies blocked the US military from using their bases and airspace to launch attacks on Iran.
Rubio, who recalled that as a senator he was “one of the strongest defenders” of NATO, told Fox News host Sean Hannity that membership in the transatlantic alliance would be “reexamined” after the Iran war.
“If now we have reached a point where the NATO alliance means we can’t use those bases to defend America’s interests, then NATO is a one way street,” the top US diplomat lamented.
“If NATO is simply about us having troops in Europe to defend Europe, but when we need them to allow us to use their military bases, their answer is no – then why are we in NATO?”
Rubio said the decision over whether the US remains in NATO will ultimately be made by President Trump, a longtime critic of the alliance.
“So I think there’s no doubt, unfortunately, after this conflict is concluded, we are going to have to reexamine that relationship,” Rubio said.
During a cabinet meeting last week, Trump described the war against Tehran as a loyalty “test” and ripped Europeans for failing to step up.
“They weren’t there,” he said of the NATO allies. “So if there’s ever a big one … I don’t think they’re going to be there.”
Trump has also blasted European countries for failing to help the US reopen the Strait of Hormuz amid Iranian attacks on shipping vessels in the critical waterway.
The president has signaled that the responsibility for ensuring the safe passage of ships in the Strait of Hormuz may soon fall solely on Europe.
“You’ll have to start learning how to fight for yourself, the U.S.A. won’t be there to help you anymore, just like you weren’t there for us,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Iran has been, essentially, decimated. The hard part is done. Go get your own oil!”
Meanwhile, ahead of Trump’s planned Wednesday primetime address on the Iran war, Rubio signaled that the US can “see the finish line.”
“We were going to destroy their air force. We have largely done that. We were going to destroy their navy, which we have largely achieved. We were going to destroy a significant percentage of their missile launchers. We are well on our way to achieving that. And we were going to wipe out their defense industrial base, meaning the factories that make the drones and the missiles. We are on our way to doing that,” Rubio said outlining the four military objectives in the war.
“We are on or ahead of schedule on each of those four objectives and we can see the finish line. It’s not today, it’s not tomorrow, but it is coming.”
