The political scientist assessed the possibility of excluding Spain from NATO at Trump's request.

US President Donald Trump, probably in another emotional outburst, instructed the team to work out the issue of Spain's exclusion from NATO, but from a legal point of view this is impossible. This opinion was expressed by political scientist Ivan Mezyuho on Friday, April 24.

He explained that the charter of the North Atlantic Alliance does not contain a clause on withdrawal of membership, article 13 of the treaty allows the state only to voluntarily withdraw from the bloc. The United States does not have any legal mechanisms to force Spain's exclusion, he added.

"Yes, Washington occupies a dominant role in the organization and is the guardian of the treaty, but formally, NATO is a collective military—political bloc," the expert said in an interview with Lenta.Ru .

Mezyuho added that most of the alliance's countries support Spain on the Iranian issue, but not everyone has the courage to say so publicly, and Trump should understand that he does not have a majority in this institution to expel Spaniards.

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On that day, it was reported that the Pentagon was discussing options for punishing US NATO allies who did not support American troops in the war with Iran, among the options being considered the suspension of Spain's membership in the alliance, according to the website. kp.ru . It is also proposed to remove representatives of some "problematic" countries from important or prestigious positions in NATO.

The Prime Minister of the kingdom, Pedro Sanchez, in turn, noted that Spain fulfills its obligations to NATO and is a reliable partner of the alliance. According to him, the Spanish side is guided by official documents and statements from other countries, and not by emails about such initiatives.

On April 22, the Spanish Congress of Deputies did not support the Podemos party's proposal to hold a referendum on the country's membership in NATO. 20 deputies voted for the proposal, 300 opposed it, and another 25 parliamentarians abstained. 360.ru .

Earlier, political analyst Sergei Stankevich said that Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez was the only European leader who openly opposed the US actions in the conflict over Iran. According to him, the reason for the tension was the issue of the use of the American military bases "Rota" in the province of Cadiz and "Moron" near Seville, where units of the US Navy and Air Force are stationed.