Rubio denounces NATO refusal to help on Iran ahead of alliance talks

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday (May 21, 2026) renewed criticism of NATO for not supporting the U.S. war on Iran, as he headed to alliance talks in Sweden.

“There are many countries in NATO that agree with us that Iran can’t have a nuclear weapon, that Iran is a threat to the world,” Mr. Rubio told reporters in Miami before leaving for the talks among NATO Foreign Ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden.

President Donald Trump “said, fine, I’m going to do something about it,” Mr. Rubio said.

“He’s not asking them to commit troops. He’s not asking them to send their fighter jets in. But they refuse to do anything,” he said.

“We were very upset about that.”

The United States and Israel jointly attacked Iran on February 28. Mr. Trump did not consult NATO ahead of time, and key European allies have voiced scepticism over the need for war, with U.S. and Israeli claims of an imminent Iranian nuclear threat highly disputed and Tehran’s retaliation sending global oil prices soaring.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez denounced the war as illegal and refused to let U.S. jets use bases in his country.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Iran was “humiliating” the United States in negotiations, infuriating Mr. Trump whose administration quickly announced that the United States was pulling 5,000 troops from bases in Germany.

“I’ve been a strong supporter of NATO my entire career,” said Mr. Rubio, a former senator.

But he continued: “I know why NATO is good for Europe, but why is NATO good for America? Because it gives us bases in the region that allow us to project power during a contingency in the Middle East or somewhere else.”

“So when that is the key rationale for why you’re in NATO, and then you have countries like Spain denying us the use of these bases, well then, why are you in NATO? That’s a very fair question,” he said.

He added that other countries were more helpful, previously singling out Portugal for praise.