U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington may need to reassess its relationship with NATO after the Iran war is finished, calling the military alliance's alleged lack of support during the Middle East conflict "very disappointing."
He criticized NATO members for denying access to military bases, following prior criticism from President Donald Trump that partners in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are "cowards" and that the alliance is a "paper tiger."
“The president and our country will have to reexamine all of this after this operation is over,” Rubio said.
The Secretary of State stressed "an alliance has to be mutually beneficial" and that the U.S. will "have to reexamine all of this after this operation is over" to determine if the current arrangement with NATO is tenable.
“If NATO is just about us defending Europe if they’re attacked, but them denying us basing rights when we need them, that’s not a very good arrangement. That’s a hard one to stay engaged in," Rubio said.
