WASHINGTON:

An internal Pentagon email outlines options for the United States to punish NATO allies it believes failed to support US operations in the war with Iran, including suspending Spain from the alliance and reviewing the US position on Britain’s claim to the Falkland Islands, a US official told Reuters.

The policy options are detailed in a note prepared by Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon’s top policy adviser, who expressed frustration at some allies’ perceived reluctance or refusal to grant the United States access, basing and overflight rights – known as ABO – for the Iran war, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the email.

Colby wrote that ABO is “just the absolute baseline for NATO,” according to the official, who added that the options were circulating at high levels in the Pentagon.

One option in the email envisions suspending “difficult” countries from important or prestigious positions at NATO, the official said. President Donald Trump has harshly criticized NATO allies for not sending their navies to help open the Strait of Hormuz, which was closed to global shipping following the start of the air war on February 28. He has also declared he is considering withdrawing from the alliance.

“Wouldn’t you if you were me?” Trump asked Reuters in an April 1 interview, in response to a question about whether the U.S. pulling out of NATO was a possibility.

But the email does not suggest that the United States do so, the official said. It also does not propose closing bases in Europe.

The official declined to say whether the options included a widely expected U.S. drawdown of some forces from Europe, however.