A leaked Pentagon email proposed suspending Spain from NATO and reassessing US support for the UK's Falklands claim as punishment for allied countries refusing to participate in the war on Iran — but NATO's founding treaty contains no mechanism to actually suspend member states, and both Spain and the UK dismissed the proposal. The email reflects escalating US pressure on European allies to participate more directly in the Iran conflict, particularly the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth characterized as a bigger threat to Europe than to the US. Germany and Italy both affirmed Spain's NATO membership remains unchanged, undercutting the Pentagon email's leverage.