President Donald Trump’s upcoming address to the United Nations General Assembly gains global attention as Secretary of State Marco Rubio discusses the “dangerous” conflict in the Middle East on ‘Fox & Friends.’ Rubio evaluates the volatile situation involving Iran and previews forthcoming diplomatic talks.
Secretary Rubio, addressing questions about NATO, expressed unease over certain allies’ refusal to allow U.S. military use of bases during the Iran conflict. “We had a couple countries say, ‘You can’t use your base here.’ Well, that’s absurd,” Rubio stated. He questioned the purpose of NATO if access to strategic bases is restricted, emphasizing the historical importance of such bases for U.S. global power projection.
“I’ve been a strong supporter of NATO my entire career,” Rubio told co-hosts Ainsley Earhardt, Lawrence Jones, and Brian Kilmeade, highlighting the strategic advantages NATO bases have offered the U.S. “If that’s going to be denied to us, then we’ve lost the biggest reason for us to be in NATO,” he added.
While Rubio did not name specific countries during the interview, it’s noted that several NATO allies, including Italy, Spain, and France, previously restricted U.S. military access amid the Iran conflict. Italy denied U.S. bombers landing rights in Sicily, Spain closed airspace to U.S. planes, and France limited U.S. flights carrying supplies to Israel.
“I hope we’ve crossed a point where resistance from NATO countries is no longer going to happen. I think we’ve had more cooperation lately from a number of countries in NATO, so that is positive, but we’re still very disappointed,” Rubio remarked.
This conversation underscores ongoing tensions with NATO regarding military strategy and underscores Secretary Rubio’s commitment to resolving these issues.