European countries restricting US access to military bases during the Iran war have exposed a deepening rift within Nato and fuelled fears that Donald Trump could use it as a pretext to scale back Washington’s commitment to Europe’s defence.
The US president’s anger at France and Spain was a central focus of a meeting with Nato secretary general Mark Rutte in Washington on Wednesday, according to alliance officials. Italy and the UK have also refused access to their bases, a decision London has since reversed.
While Trump’s previous attacks on Nato prompted a united response from European allies, the Iran war had divided them, four Nato diplomats said. They said European capitals were at odds over decisions that undermined efforts to convince the United States to keep its troops stationed on the continent.
“It was a complete own goal, without question,” said one senior alliance diplomat. “They are US military bases ... for the US military to use,” the diplomat said, even though some facilities are jointly operated or under national control.
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Trump was irate during his White House meeting with Rutte, according to people briefed on the closed-door discussions. He has threatened to punish European states he deems insufficiently supportive of the war, but did not outline specific measures in the meeting, they added.
Rutte said his conversations with Trump on Wednesday were “frank”.
“I sensed his disappointment about the fact that he felt too many allies were not with him,” Rutte said on Thursday at a public event in Washington. “When it came time to provide the logistical and other support the United States needed in Iran, some allies were a bit slow, to say the least.”
But, Rutte added, he told Trump that after an initial shock, European allies were providing bases, logistics and “doing everything the United States is asking”. A White House official said: “As president Trump said yesterday, Nato was tested and they failed.”
In recent weeks, the US president has lashed out at European capitals for blocking the use of military bases or closing their airspace, and has accused Nato of not being “there when we needed them”.
Spain has banned the use of jointly operated Spanish-US bases in Rota and Morón for operations linked to the war and barred aircraft involved in attacks on Iran from using its airspace. Italy has denied permission for US military aircraft involved in the conflict to refuel at the jointly operated Sigonella airbase in Sicily.
UK prime minister Keir Starmer initially blocked the US from using British bases for strikes on Iran, citing a desire to avoid the “mistakes of Iraq” and rejecting “regime change from the skies”. He pivoted within 24 hours to authorise the use of bases such as Diego Garcia for “limited defensive purposes”.
Trump criticised his initial hesitation, saying the UK “should have acted a lot faster” and mocking Starmer’s focus on legalities during a time of war.
France has approved US requests to use its airspace on a case-by-case basis but Trump has accused Paris of denying access to a jet delivering military equipment. A diplomatic official did not confirm if that concerned a US or Israeli plane. The Élysée Palace expressed surprise over the Trump accusation and said its policy had not changed.
While it was understandable for Nato allies to be reticent in committing warships to the Strait of Hormuz, said one diplomat, their misjudgment on military bases riled other European governments as well, notably in the Baltics and Poland.
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Almost all European Nato members are broadly supportive of more “strategic autonomy” from the US – a French push that aligns with the Trump administration’s desire for the continent to take on more responsibility for its own defence.
But the diplomats said that refusing to grant the US access to bases was a step too far, driven by domestic political considerations that ran counter to the spirit of mutual defence.
German chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Thursday that he did not want Nato to rupture over Iran. “Nato is a guarantor of our security, especially in Europe,” he said. “We must continue to keep a cool head here.”
He added that Germany was willing to contribute to a mission to secure the Strait of Hormuz, as long as there was an international mandate for such an operation and it was approved by the Bundestag.
Merz also said there were no plans to restrict the use of US military bases in Germany, despite calls from parties on the far left and far right for him to do so.
European Union leaders saying this was “not our war” was perceived as snubbing Trump, said a third European diplomat. “We need to show our use to Trump one way or another,” the diplomat said.
Since Trump, an avowed Nato sceptic, returned to the White House last year, European allies have used two arguments to convince him not to withdraw from the alliance: spending more of their own money on defence to lower the burden on Washington, and pointing out that its military presence in Europe projects US power globally.
The recent European decisions had deeply undermined that second argument, the diplomats said.
“The cost of this could be enormous,” said a fourth diplomat. “Now, even US officials who understand why Nato is useful for them [to be in Europe] are questioning why they are doing it.” – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2026
