Hegseth Announces Six-Month NATO Review, Blasts Allies Over Iran Base Access

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth used a NATO defense ministers meeting in Brussels on June 18 to announce a six-month Pentagon review of U.S. force posture in Europe, tying the outcome directly to how quickly European allies assume primary responsibility for their own conventional defense ^[1][4]. Hegseth told his counterparts that the review "will be designed to ensure that NATO is moving fast and irreversibly toward Europe leading," and warned that some countries would fail the assessment while others would pass ^[4][6]. The meeting was the first NATO ministerial he has attended since October, according to POLITICO, and he departed before the session concluded ^[7].

The central grievance animating Hegseth's remarks was allied refusal to grant U.S. forces basing access, airspace, and overflight rights during U.S. military operations against Iran ^[1][4]. He called that refusal "shameful," arguing that denying predictable access "put America's sons and daughters at risk" ^[15]. Spain was the principal holdout: the country, along with Italy and France at various points, declined to allow U.S. aircraft to use bases on their territory, including Naval Station Rota and Morón Air Base, for strikes on Iran ^[17]. The Trump administration had previously floated the possibility of suspending Spain from the alliance over the dispute, a proposal attributed internally to Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby ^[17]. Hegseth's review, which Colby had previewed in February under the "NATO 3.0" framing, ties continued U.S. investment and basing decisions to allied performance on burden-sharing, base access, and defense spending ^[15].

The Brussels appearance comes after weeks of whipsaw signaling on U.S. troop levels in Europe. In May, the Trump administration announced plans to withdraw approximately 5,000 troops from Germany following a public dispute between President Trump and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz over the Iran campaign ^[9][8]. The Pentagon also reduced the number of brigade combat teams assigned to Europe from four to three, canceling the deployment of the Army's 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, to Poland ^[11]. Days later, Trump announced on Truth Social that 5,000 troops would instead be sent to Poland, citing his relationship with Polish President Karol Nawrocki, a move that drew confusion from defense officials who said they did not understand what it meant for the broader drawdown ^[9]. The administration separately signaled cuts could extend to forces in Italy and Spain ^[10].

Those fluctuating posture decisions are now taking place against a firm statutory floor. Under the fiscal year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, the Pentagon is prohibited from reducing U.S. troop levels in Europe below 76,000 without first certifying to Congress that the drawdown was conducted in consultation with NATO allies and would not harm U.S. national security, alliance readiness, or deterrence posture toward Russia ^[13]. The certification requirement does not prohibit a reduction below that threshold but establishes procedural hurdles the executive branch must clear ^[12]. Approximately 80,000 U.S. troops are currently deployed on the continent, leaving the administration operating room to reposition forces without triggering the statutory floor, though any significant relocation would likely require congressional notifications and funding adjustments ^[15][12]. The Senate Armed Services Committee's version of the FY2027 NDAA would tighten those constraints further, requiring a 120-day advance assessment before any drawdown below 76,000 is implemented ^[15].

The congressional response was swift. Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the moment required the Senate to act as an institutional check, warning that if Republican colleagues who have privately opposed abandoning NATO do not speak publicly, Trump will "significantly draw down our conventional forces throughout Western Europe," according to POLITICO [POLITICO]. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, for his part, acknowledged uncertainty about the review's outcome, telling reporters "there's still no clarity on exactly what the outcome will be, because that will depend on the review," while citing a roughly 20 percent increase in European and Canadian defense spending in 2025 compared to 2024 as evidence that allies are responding to U.S. pressure ^[7]. Rutte is scheduled to travel to Washington in the coming days for further consultations ^[7].