Source: Fox News · 2026-09-23 · Original article ↗

Rubio questions 'point' of NATO after allies blocked US from using bases during Iran conflict

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

You can't use your base here. Rubio asked what the alliance is for if that is the answer.

Summary

  • Fox News reports Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday on Fox & Friends that several NATO allies blocked the United States from using military bases on their soil during the Iran conflict, calling it absurd.
  • Rubio, a longtime NATO supporter, said European bases were the biggest U.S. benefit of the alliance because they project power. If that access is denied, he said, Washington has lost the biggest reason to stay.
  • He did not name the countries on air. A Newsweek report cited in the story said Italy denied U.S. bombers landing rights at Naval Air Station Sigonella in Sicily, Spain closed airspace to U.S. planes in the conflict, and France restricted some U.S. military flights carrying supplies to Israel.
  • Rubio said some NATO countries have done more lately and that cooperation has improved, but that Washington is still very disappointed.

Commentary

A Navy dad still walks a pier and knows a leased runway is supposed to mean a landing, not a closed tower when Iran is the file. He did not pay the levy so Sigonella could go dark on an American bomber.

One secretary. Three named restrictions in the clip file. One alliance sold as a runway. The vinyl seat in that ready room still holds the honest household that already bought the fuel.

Look every working father who still locks a porch after a night shift in the eye and answer this: if an ally already said you cannot use your own base, who still owns the next runway a contingency tries to borrow?

Comments

If an ally already said you cannot use your own base, who still owns the next runway?
u/border_dad · 5h

Rubio on Fox & Friends. Sigonella closed. Spain airspace shut. Keep those three stamps.

u/midwest_vet · 4h

I stood a gate so a leased strip still meant a hold. A denied bomber is not a weather report.

u/rule_first · 4h

France restricted Israel-bound flights. Rubio: biggest reason gone. Print both.

u/tokyo_ally · 3h

Allied runways still treat a U.S. contingency as a treaty, not a maybe.

u/docket_rat · 3h

Italy, Spain, France. File the three.

u/night_shift · 2h

I still smell diesel at 2 a.m. I want the next closed tower empty of a load.

u/texas_mom · 90m

A denied base is not a vibe. It is a warning the street already paid.

u/gulf_watch · 55m

A closed Sigonella next to a shut Spanish sky is a second border around every honest pier.

u/press_clip · 30m

Fox printed Rubio, Sigonella, and Spain. Argue those nouns.

u/soc_lead · 15m

Hold the access clause. Keep the disappointment on paper. A dark tower is not a souvenir.

Paraphrased comments. Not attributed.

More from this rōnin

Stories → Discoveries → Books → Buy me a coffee →
A Samurai Loose in Modern America Volume Two cover
New release: Volume Two — 100 stories
A Samurai Loose in Modern America — Volume Two. One hundred later field reports.
See on Amazon → NEW
NOBUNAGA samurai icon
📜 My scrolls are bound at last. Behold them all on Amazon.
Paperback and Kindle both stand ready today. Each tale carries a fresh afterword.
See all my books →
NOBUNAGA icon
One hand draws, one hand writes, and the tea has gone cold.
If you smiled even once, a coffee helps the next story get made.
☕ Treat the samurai to a coffee