U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a press conference at the Pentagon on May 5, 2026, in Arlington, Virginia.
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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday announced a Pentagon-led review of U.S. forces in Europe and criticized some NATO allies over defense spending and reluctance to join the Iran war.
“This is a review that some countries will fail in, but others will pass successfully,” Hegseth told NATO defense ministers in Brussels, according to Reuters.
Hegseth added that the six-month review aims to “ensure that NATO is moving quickly and irreversibly” towards assuming primary responsibility for the defense of Europe.
He also said it was “shameful” that European allies denied access to US military bases to attack Iran.
Hegseth’s comments reflect increasingly fraught relations between the United States and its allies in the Atlantic Alliance.
NATO members last year pledged to increase defense spending after coming under pressure from President Donald Trump’s European White House to take greater responsibility for their own security.
Hegseth said in May that the United States requires allies and partners to commit to defense spending of at least 3.5% of GDP, adding that the United States would prioritize working with these “exemplary allies.”
Last month, he continued to criticize Europe while praising countries such as the Philippines, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore for stepping up and sharing defense and alliance burdens.
President Trump has continued to criticize NATO, threatening to withdraw from the alliance over the United States’ reluctance to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
In dollar terms, the United States is by far the largest spender on defense within the alliance. According to NATO data, the United States spent an estimated $845 billion on defense last year, dwarfing the $559 billion spent by other allies.
—CNBC’s Lim Hui Jie and Chloe Taylor also contributed to this report.
