UNITED States Secretary of State Marco Rubio is due to meet NATO allies today in what is expected to become a highly sensitive diplomatic confrontation over the future direction of the alliance following escalating disputes between Washington and European governments over the Iran war and American military commitments in Europe.
The meeting in Sweden marks the first major gathering of alliance foreign ministers since US President Donald Trump publicly rebuked members of the 32-country alliance for refusing to allow American forces to use military facilities on their territory during operations linked to the Iran conflict.
Before departing for the NATO ministerial talks, Rubio said Trump was “deeply disappointed” with certain alliance members, singling out Spain for denying access to US military bases.
“You have countries like Spain refusing to allow us to use these bases – so why are you in NATO? That is a very reasonable question,” Reuters cited Rubio telling reporters in Miami.
“To be fair, other countries in NATO have been very helpful. However, this matter needs to be discussed,” he added.
Trump has intensified criticism of NATO allies in recent weeks, accusing European members of failing to do enough to support the joint US-Israeli military campaign linked to Iran.
The American president has also openly questioned whether Washington should remain committed to NATO’s collective defence obligations and has reportedly considered withdrawing the United States from the alliance altogether.
NATO officials, however, stressed that Washington had not formally requested alliance participation in the Iran war, although many member states continued to fulfil their obligations by permitting the use of airspace and military bases by US forces.
European concerns over Trump’s approach towards NATO have deepened further following his administration’s announcement that 5,000 American troops would be withdrawn from Europe.
According to US officials, the move was partly linked to criticism by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz over Trump’s Iran war strategy.
The announcement reportedly caused confusion and unease among Washington’s allies after initial briefings indicated troops would be removed from Germany before American officials later clarified that only the deployment of a brigade to Poland would be delayed.
Washington also informed allies that plans to deploy long-range Tomahawk missiles in Germany would no longer proceed.
Diplomatic anxiety in Europe has been compounded this year by Trump’s controversial pursuit of Greenland, a territory belonging to Denmark, which is itself a NATO member.
At the ministerial gathering in Helsingborg, European officials are expected to reassure Washington that they remain prepared to contribute towards safeguarding freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and to shoulder greater responsibility for Europe’s own security architecture.
Iran had previously disrupted traffic through the strategically vital waterway during the conflict.
Meanwhile, the United States is also expected to notify NATO allies that it intends to reduce certain military capabilities currently made available to the alliance during times of crisis, according to three sources familiar with the matter cited by Reuters.
NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe, US Air Force General Alexus Grynkewich, sought this week to calm European concerns by saying any future reductions would be phased in gradually over several years.
“As the European pillar within this alliance becomes stronger, it allows the United States to reduce its presence in Europe and focus only on providing critical capabilities that allies are not yet able to provide themselves,” he told reporters at NATO headquarters on Tuesday. - May 22, 2026
